Sleep Without A Dream
by Darkness Takes Over
Summary: Sequel to Immortal Fear - He controlled her, she feared him. It had always been this way. In life and now in death. But all this will change. Chapter 6 - 16th Jan 2011. Please review!
1. No More Nightmares

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Nightmare on Elm Street or any of the characters involved. I only own my own ideas and my OC's.

**Genre: **Horror/Supernatural/Family/Suspense

**Rating: **M for language, violence, gore, death.

**Title: **Sleep Without A Dream

**Summary: **Sequel to Immortal Fear - He controlled her, she feared him. It had always been this way. In life and now in death. But all this will change…

'_If we suddenly fall should I scream out_

_or keep very quiet and cling to my mouth as I'm crying _

_so frightened of dying _

_relax yes I'm trying._

_this fears got a hold on me_

_yes, this fears got a hold on me'_

_**Death**__ by White Lies._

**Sleep Without A Dream**

**Chapter 1: **No More Nightmares…?

For some people two years may not seem like a long time. But to Nancy and the other remaining Elm Street children of Springwood, Ohio it feels like an _eternity_. That was how long they hadn't had a dream or nightmare about him.

About Freddy.

Freddy Krueger.

Ever since he had mercilessly slaughtered his daughter in cold blood he had vanished from the dream world, from the their subconscious. Leaving them with several unanswered questions. Why did he leave? Was that his ultimate goal, his aim to kill Katherine? If not, would be come back once more? To finally finish what he started and kill them all?

Despite two years having passed with no dreams or nightmares of him, Nancy had kept herself occupied with her life. She just didn't want to think about him or Katherine. But every now and then her mind would drift, wander onto them. However, she would shake any thoughts of them to the side.

Freddy was _gone_.

As for Katherine, it still pained her to think back to that night when Katherine died. She had in a way lost a friend that night.

Throughout the last two years she had moved on with her life, gaining a promotion in Westin Hills. She was now a senior psychiatrist dealing with behavioural issues and was taking a part time course in dream therapy. Another positive that had occurred over the last two years was being honest with herself and her feelings towards her close friend and fellow work colleague.

Neil.

After much deliberation she finally came clean and professed her feelings to him. She was surprised to find out that he felt the exact same way as her and was too shy to admit it, afraid that she would reject him. It seemed that Katherine _was_ right.

Three months after declaring their feelings towards each other they took the next step in their relationship and Neil moved into her apartment. Things were going very smoothly and she was content, happy. At ease.

As for the other remaining Elm Street children, they were embarking on a new chapter of their life. No longer were they students of Springwood High, but new freshman's at Springwood Community College. It was a very exhilarating time for each of them as young vibrant adults, ready to make their mark on the world. Things were going extremely well.

Even Matthew had pulled himself together. Shortly after Katherine's first anniversary of her death he moved to the state of New York and through help of an old school friend had coached in one of the local high schools in the city that he was living in. It was time needed away from Springwood, to help him grasp the fact that she was gone. That the girl he was starting to fall for was dead.

He had accepted that he was falling in love with her, even though they had spent such a short time with each other before her death. Before her bastard of a father took her away from him, possessed his own body to get to her. To break her last piece of dignity she had left. To ravage her body, in turn breaking any trust she had in him. Even though it wasn't him controlling his body while doing thought sick deeds on her, she still saw his face and it devastated her.

Their camaraderie was gone.

Forever.

After the end of the school year he packed up his bags and returned back to Springwood and was lucky to get his old coaching job back. Throughout the year he had remained in contact with Nancy and her friends, via phone calls and letters. He was pleased to discover that they still were free of any dreams or nightmares of him. It appeared that the town was finally free of him.

The handful of children and teenagers that previously had heard of_ his_ story were thrown into a very unexpected memory suppression course just shortly after Krueger's disappearance. It was Nancy and Neil who had suggested the idea and had overseen the operation and were very lucky to find out a small batch of hypnocil was due to arrive into the town.

Once it was received the teenagers and children were distributed it for several weeks and before long they were no longer having any dreams that were linked to him. No dreams of 1428 Elm Street, the boiler room or the jump rope children. Things were back to normal.

No nightmares, no dreams.

No fear.

One more significant aspect that happened in Springwood was the slight increase in the population over the last due to the creation of new jobs in a small number of manufacturing factories and small local businesses branching out over the last eighteen months. New families had moved into several new neighbourhood estates just a short walk from the local high school and Springwood Mall. The town was buzzing with anticipation for the future, full of vigour and hope.

It looked as it nothing or _no-one _could stop it…

**x x x **

It was nearing the end of the third week of October. The new school year was in full swing. The time was just past 4pm on a Friday afternoon. Despite it being October the sun was still shining brightly in the autumn sky. The car park of Springwood was slowly emptying out, with teachers and students alike heading home. Some students had stayed behind due to being put in detention for their unruly behaviour, while others decided to stay behind to get knuckled down in their school studies and coursework.

Several hundred yards behind the large car park was the school playing fields that consisted of a baseball pitch, racing track that circled a large football pitch and another large field for other sports activities. The pitches were surrounded by a large six foot wired fence and a few rows of large trees, the leaves beginning to fall off in vibrant red, yellow and brown colours.

An energetic football match was currently being played out on the pitch. The players went through their paces with valour, while Matthew Reid stood at the sideline barking out instructions along with his fellow coach Schneider. Both coaches had chosen their team and were battling it out with each other as they did every Friday afternoon.

"C'mon guys. Keep it tight!" Matthew hollered, then sighed as one of the moves broke down and Schneider's team stole the ball breaking off to score a touch down. They had won by just two points to Matthew's disappointment and his other coach's glee.

"Better luck next week Matt!" Schneider remarked.

Shrugging this shoulders he took a small glance over his shoulders to see two familiar faces sitting in the stands. Nancy and Kristen. They grinned and waved at him to come over. He smiled back and threw Schneider a quick glance, mumbling quickly, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Would you mind taking over for the rest of the session?"

Frowning at the sudden statement Schneider turned to rebuke, but gave a frustrated sigh. As Matthew was already out of sight, hurrying over towards the stand to where his two friends waited for him.

Upon reaching their side, they each in turn gave him a hug, "Hey! How are you guys?" he chirped and sat beside them.

"I'm good" Kristen smiled brightly, "I'm still trying to settle into college life, but it beats high school any day!"

Matthew reassuringly patted her shoulder, his voice soft and encouraging as he replied, "I'm sure you'll get used to it. It just takes a little time. How are Joey and Kincaid?"

Kristen gave another merry smile and nodded quickly, "They're loving it! I think it's because of all the parties on the campus they've been going to though"

Matthew laughed, "I know what you mean. I remember them days"

"I saw you at the graveyard on Sunday" Nancy said quietly.

He rose an eyebrow in surprise, "You did? You should have called me!"

She shrugged, "I just didn't want to disturb you. I know how people would prefer to have private moments when they're visiting people's graves" there was a pause, "I have to be honest. I haven't been at her grave much over the last few months. I've just been busy"

"It's okay. I'm sure Katherine would understand"

Clearing her throat slightly Kristen interrupted, "The reason we're here is that Nancy is organising a get together at her apartment tonight. We're ordering in food from that new restaurant that opened up last month. So, we were thinking would you like to go?"

His eyes brightened up and a gracious smile grew on his sweaty face, "That would be great. Thank you" he gave his watch a quick look. It was now 4.13pm. "What time do you want me to be there for?"

Nancy gave her watch a quick gander as well, "About half seven?"

"That's fine. Want me to bring a bottle of wine or something?"

Kristen beamed at the idea, "That would be great"

She received a stern look from Nancy who abhorred her vibrant response. The younger woman rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Nancy it's okay. My mom allows me to have the odd glass of wine. I'm not a kid anymore. And it's not as though I haven't been drunk before"

Nodding slowly she gave a hefty exasperated sigh, "I know, I know. It's just that I still see you as sixteen year old. When I first met you"

Laughing heartily she smiled and stood from her seat, "Okay, look I'm going to head here. I'm meeting up with Joey and Kincaid. We'll see you at the apartment"

Exchanging their goodbyes Nancy and Matthew watched as the young blond woman scurried away towards her parked car at the side of the road. He turned in his seat towards Nancy and lowered his voice, "You still look out for them, don't you?"

"Yes" she wasn't going to lie, "I do. I see them as part of my own family. I'd do anything for them" her fists tightened slowly, her smile fading away as her tone turned serious, "Matthew, have you been having any dreams lately? Any nightmares?"

His body stiffened, becoming anxious and disturbed by the question. Blinking slowly he shook his head, "No, I haven't. Why…"

Cutting in sharply she continued, "I know it's an out of the blue question. But I'm just curious. I'm still not convinced that it's over"

Matthew glanced about the racing track, glad that the coast was clear for them to talk about this. Schneider had brought the students back into the school to get showered and ready to leave the school grounds. If anyone overheard their conversation then god only knew what would happen. "But Nancy, it's been two years since any of us has had any nightmares. Okay, I had some dreams. Memories of Katherine when she was a youngster, but that was it. I've had nothing since. You've even said to me yourself during our phone conversations that none of you have had any dreams of him. So, why are you asking me this?"

Waving her hand quickly she dismissed her abrupt admission, "Oh, just ignore me. I'm just over-reacting as normal. Neil says I need a breakm, because I've been working so much over the last year. He's probably right. I'm just…thinking too much, you know"

"Thinking of what?"

"Not of what" she gulped, "Of who"

His eyes went wide at this statement and he lowered his voice yet again to barely above a whisper, "You mean…Freddy?"

"No!" she replied albeit a little too loudly, then lowered her voice, "Not him. Katherine. I've been thinking about her. It's probably because it was her anniversary a few months ago"

"What about you Nancy? Have you been having any dreams lately?"

She slowly looked up to him, her lips pressed firmly together and gave her head a quick shake, "No. I haven't. I still miss her Matthew. I know we weren't that close, but still" she shrugged her shoulders.

"I understand Nancy. Honestly I do" he replied.

"Look, I'll let you get on. I'll see you later yeah?"

He nodded eagerly and they both stood, going their separate ways. As he jogged towards his sports equipment lying on the side of the racing track, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He didn't like lying to anyone, especially his friends and he considered Nancy as his friend. But he wasn't entirely truthful about saying that he hadn't had any dreams.

Because he _had_.

It was nothing serious. Just a recurring dream over the last few nights regarding the power plant. Each time he would be walking listlessly through the passageways. Each pipe and metal wall were cold, the whole place was barren. Void of life and was very eerie. Creepy. He kept expecting an ear-splitting screech of metal upon metal. Freddy's claw or even that fucker's dark hoarse laugh. Or a high pitched scream of a child. But there wasn't. Everything was silent.

Matthew knew that he was gone. And that it was only a dream.

An insignificant dream.

Wasn't it?

**x x x**

The wine and beer was flowing, the food was nearly consumed and the conversation was merry and relaxed. As so was the mood of the people around Nancy's dining table. The time was nearing 8:47pm and the men were embroiled in a discussion about the High School football team's chances for this year's county championship.

"I seriously don't believe you have a chance. Have you seen the competition this year man? It's going to be fucking hard dude" Kincaid grumbled in between chewing his food and glanced to his right as Matthew sat at the far end of the table. Opposite Kristen.

Matthew nodded agreeing with him a little and took another gulp of his Budweiser, "I understand. But I think that if we knuckle down hard then yes, we can do well"

Kincaid wiped at his grey shirt as he spilt a dribble of his alcoholic beverage, mumbling, "Man, I wish I was still in senior year. I would have joined up for the team"

Neil gave a laugh and gave him a glare, "Well, from what Coach Schneider told me you joined up last year and managed to get into a fight with one of the star players"

"Well" Kincaid gesticulated with his shoulders, "He deserved it"

Nancy's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and she spurted up her wine as she sat beside Neil, "What?"

Joey interjected swiftly, agreeing with Kincaid, "He's right Nancy"

"He was trying to come onto Kristen" Kincaid continued, "She kept knocking him back, but he continued to pester her so I told him to keep away from her"

Neil crossed his arms, arching his right eyebrow and said straight to the point, "Yes, I heard. You told him to '_fuck off'_ and then that's how the fight started"

Kincaid took another swig of his beer, "And so what? I never got suspended"

"That was because _I_ had to step in and talk to the principal. Luckily I got him on him on a good day" Nancy stated dryly and placed down her fork, having finished her meal.

Kincaid shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly and downed the rest of his drink, "Sorry"

Nancy gave him a small smile, that quickly faded as gave each person at the table a nervous fleeting look. The question she was about to ask would definitely change the atmosphere of the room and she knew it. "I want to ask you three" she gestured with her hands towards Kristen, Joey and Kincaid, "a question. I want you to be honest with me. Have you been having any…dreams lately?"

They gave each other a perplexed and anxious look. Neil's face turned pale, his lips pursing tight together his temper rising slightly at his girlfriend's surprise question. Leaning forward in her seat Kristen bit her lip, worried by this line of questioning, "Have you been having dreams Nancy?"

"I have…but not of him" she replied, "The last few nights I've been dreaming of Katherine. Well, I think it's her. I'm not one hundred percent sure"

Matthew stared in disbelief at her and looked down at his hands that were now clenched in rage, disgusted at her for lying to him. But she had a right to angry at him too, seeing as he had lied to her too. Lifting his gaze back towards Nancy he listened carefully as she began to describe her dream.

"I'm walking through the graveyard. There's a horrible thunder storm. It's late at night and my destination is Katherine's grave. But when I get there, some woman is lying on top of her grave. Her face is away from me. It's so dark I can barely make out who exactly it is. The flashes of lightening illuminate her body for only a few seconds at a time" she began, her face full of concentration as she thought back to her dream, "I think she's wearing the same clothes as Katherine was buried in. Her hair is shielding her face, she seems to be sobbing and shaking. Every time I get close enough to touch her a loud clap of thunder always seems to wake me up"

"Did she say anything?" Matthew asked.

"No, I can only hear her crying. It's very faint" she sighed, "I know it's linked with her anniversary, my first dream was on the day of her second anniversary. Then I would have one every few weeks after. But the last few weeks, I've been having it every night"

She was right, the atmosphere in the room had changed dramatically. Everyone was silent, tense. Apprehensive at her sudden admission. Casting her pensive gaze away from Nancy's, Kristen cleared her throat and made eye contact with Joey and Kincaid, "I think we should tell them guys"

Neil and Nancy exchanged frightened looks, both of them asking in unison, "Tell us what?"

Joey smacked his lips softly, voice edgy, "We've been having dreams over the last week or so"

Nancy's voice rose in panic, her eyes wide, "What? And you never told me or Neil?"

Coolly Neil interjected, signalling for Nancy to calm down. "Describe them to us. Your dreams"

"Well" Kristen whispered quietly, "When I wake up I'm lying on one of the catwalks in the power plant. It's very quiet. I mean you could hear a pin drop! Nothing is working. Everything is dormant" she swallowed thickly, "But I'm still scared you know? So, I bring Joey and Kincaid into the dream. Just say they're not that happy to be there"

Kincaid groaned and shook his head, giving his female friend a glare, "That's the understatement of the decade Kris!"

She stuck out her tongue at him and carried on, "We're just walking. But we know where we're heading to. It's the boiler room. When we pass the pipes we just curiously touch them and they're cold. Everything is cold, it's freezing in the place. Even the pressure valves for the heat are at zero. It's as though the power plant hasn't been used in years. I've had the same dream for the last ten days. Every night"

Nodding in accord with her account Kincaid also added, "We've been dreaming the same thing. We don't see him or hear him. There's none of his victims and them freaky kids singing that creepy damn song aren't there either. Nothing!"

Leaning forward Matthew clasped his hands together and placed his chin on top of them, mumbling quietly, "That's the same dream I've been having too"

Gasping at his sudden confession she slammed her right hand on the table, incensed. "You told me you weren't having any dreams!"

"And so did you Nancy. We _both_ lied to each other"

Realising that he was right Nancy slumped back in her seat, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. So, each of them apart from Neil were having dreams. Connected in some way to Freddy. Either by through Katherine or the power plant. But the question was, why? Could it just be linked to her anniversary. But it was nearly two months ago. Was it some sort of sign? That Krueger was coming back. Grimacing at such a disconcerting thought she took a sip of her wine. There was only one course of action to take, "Neil, I think we should start taking the hypnocil again. Just for a week or two. Just to be sure"

"Okay. I'll have to check to see if there is any left in storage" he admitted, "Do you want me to get Alan to come and talk with you?"

"Isn't that the dream doctor?" Joey enquired.

"Yeah" Neil shook his head in accord, "He could probably shed some light on why you're having dreams of the boiler room and of Katherine's grave. I personally feel that you are feeling nervous, afraid that he might come back. But even though he won't"

"But how are we meant to know?" Kristen cried, her voice wavering slightly, "How can we be so sure he's gone for good?"

Neil took a deep breath, "What reason could he have? I know this may seem hard for some of you to take in, but maybe that is what he really wanted. For us to bring Katherine back to Springwood, for him to kill her"

Joey gave him a perplexed look, "How would that benefit him?"

Shifting around in his seat Matthew gave each of the group a solemn stare, "It benefits that bastard because he has his daughter with him in death. That no one could have her, that _I_ couldn't have her"

"I still find it hard to believe that he would let us go" Kristen remarked, "That he would allow us to go after what our parents did to him. It just doesn't make any sense"

Nancy closed her eyes tightly, having enough of his discussion. It brought back too many ghastly memories. "I think we should talk about something else. If we dwell on this too much then we'll start getting paranoid"

There was a resounding chorus of agreement from them and soon the men were embroiled in a heated debate about a televised boxing match, which unluckily for Nancy and Kristen was due to start within the next half an hour.

Standing from the table, the two women began to clear the table as the men hurried into the living room, but not before getting a few more beers from the fridge. Leaving their dirty dishes behind. Rolling her eyes in annoyance Nancy lifted Kincaid's and Joey's plates , scrapping the leftovers into a small metal bin beside entrance to the kitchen. "Men, huh?" she grumbled over to Kristen, "I can never understand them and sports! And as usual it's up to the women to clear up_ their_ mess!"

A hearty laugh left Kristen's mouth and she nodded, "That's very true!" and grabbed a drying towel off the draining board, "I dry. You wash?"

It didn't take long for the ambience of the apartment to return to a unperturbed state. The talk of dreams were soon forgotten, pushed back to the depths of their subconscious. For the time being…

**x x x **

By midnight Nancy had finally managed to lock up and was changed into her night clothes, her guests having gone home. Some of them a little more intoxicated than others. Namely Joey and Kincaid. Wisely Kristen had ordered the young trio a cab and they went on their merry way, while Matthew only had a short walk to his apartment down the street. At last Nancy and Neil has some peace and quiet, some time for themselves.

Laying on their bed they were busy engrossed in their respective reading. With Nancy going through her notes on one of her patients while Neil was absorbed in the local Springwood Gazette. He averted his eyes from the page and noticed that Nancy was having trouble concentrating, "Nancy, are you okay?"

She gave a faint smiled, nodding slowly, "Yeah" her eyes remained locked on her notes, "I'm fine"

Folding his paper quickly he placed it on the side dresser and turned to face her, then used his forefinger and thumb on his right hand to turn her face towards him, "You're not okay. Ever since that discussion at dinner you've been…distant"

Groaning in annoyance, she nodded in agreement. He knew her_ so_ well. "Yes. You're right, I have been on edge ever since that talk about dreams. I'm just curious as to why we're having them dreams, even though that fucker is gone"

Reaching over he gently took her work notes off her lap and pushed them back into her briefcase, "Listen. I'll phone Alan in the morning. I'm sure he could come up for a few days. I'm sure it's nothing Nancy. You're just jumping to conclusions. I've told you before you need to stop analysing every dream or nightmare you have!"

Nodding sheepishly she gave a little smile, "Yes, you're right. I'm just being paranoid"

"Yes, you are" he murmured, turning away to switch off the small lamp. As he turned back to her he lazily pulled her down beside him under the covers, kissing her lightly on the lips, "Now, let's get some sleep. No more dreams, right?"

"No more dreams"

He smiled, relieved and gave her one more kiss before closing his eyes along with Nancy. And within mere minutes they were in a deep slumber…

Tossing and turning in her bed, Nancy was in a foul mood and clearly agitated. Being unable to get settled after awaking up just minutes before. Her bedroom was darker than before. It felt strange, surreal. The mattress was no longer underneath her body. The floor was cold, hard and very uncomfortable. Squinting in the darkness she could barely make out railing on either side of her. Gingerly she ran her hands on the ground, discerning that it was a metal grating. She was on a catwalk.

Suddenly the sound of feet hurrying towards her made her head jerk upwards as a slim figure rushed towards her.

"Oh, Nancy!" Kristen cried, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought you in. But it's just…gut instinct you know? Whenever I'm here…I just_ freak _out!"

Nancy gave her a bemused look as the younger woman grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet, "Here? You don't mean…"

It soon dawned on her that the catwalk that they were both on was suspended high above the boiler room. Her breath hitched in her throat as she huddled close to Kristen, both of them entangling their hands together. "Why the fuck is this happening?"

"I don't know Nancy, I'm at a lost too" Kristen muttered and slowly they marched onwards down the catwalk towards a deep staircase. It lead to the boiler room, a place that they were wary of going to. But Kristen wanted to show Nancy how everything was cold, the pipes, the furnaces. The metal walls. How latent and barren the place was.

Upon entering the dreaded boiler room Kristen led Nancy towards the furnace, "See? It's not working, there's no fire. It's cold" she gently pressed Nancy's palm against the metal.

She rose her eyebrows in surprise, bewildered at how this could be. "This is unbelievable" she shivered involuntary and wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging her cream night shirt closer to her body. It was_ so_ cold. A stark difference, as it was usually searing hot in this godforsaken place.

"Yeah" Kristen sighed, spinning back towards the room. Her blue eyes darted about the room then back towards the furnace, where she leaned forward peering into the blackness within. "Do you think this is where…she died?"

"You mean Katherine?"

"Yeah" she gulped, "I mean, we never saw her body. Do you think he killed her here or somewhere else?"

Nancy gave a anxious glance in her direction, not liking this line of questioning, "I'm not sure Kris"

Shaking her head swiftly Kristen apologetically shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that. My bad"

"It's fine. How about we wake up, huh?"

Kristen smiled and clutched her hand, closing her eyes tightly and then conjuring her dream power she woke them both awake. Their bodies leaving the dream realm in a blinding white flash.

Only a matter of seconds had passed since their departure when something stirred within the dream world.

A presence, dark and menacing was starting to return. The doorway to the furnace creaked open, the hinges screeching loudly. Just like chalk on a blackboard. Thick black, dirty smoke billowed from the ash. Sparks flew from the depths of the furnace and soon a bright, vibrant fire erupted from within. Intense red and orange hot flames flickering wildly, wanting fresh meat. Fresh flesh to devour and incinerate.

The metal pipes that aligned the walls of the power plant, some of them stretching for miles began to spring to life, becoming incredibly warm in a split second. Blistering steam poured from the cracked pipes. The pressure valves on the large pressure and temperature gauges jumped to life, the small white pointers jolting dangerously high.

The power plant was coming back to life, the evil presence spreading it's essence throughout the large metal structure once more. Staining it with it's malevolent force. The boiler room was now smothered in thick black smoke and soon an eerie screech vibrated throughout the room, mixed with a thunderous maniacal laugh.A bright blaze of red light illuminated the room and gradually faded away, while the smoke slowly began to dissipate.

There was a shuffle of feet as a figure slowly stood in the middle of the room, a dirty brown fedora hat adorning his head. His face was still covered with them ghastly, sickening burns. That leering, incorrigible grin was still smeared on his face. The clothes were the same, red and green grimy tattered sweater, black slacks and boots. His right hand still had his prized possession, his destructive bladed claw that began to twitch and convulse. It hadn't been in use for a very long time.

In the distance an all too familiar song began to resonated throughout the corridors. It was _his_ song, the jump rope song.

Freddy was back and he wasn't alone…

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed the prequel to this story - Immortal Fear - and making it the story with the most reviews for me! I hope you give as many reviews to his story too, thank you. So, please let me know what you think of the start of this! I'd love for some new readers to let me know what you think too! :)

Paula.


	2. His Little Puppet

**Chapter 2:** His Little Puppet

Freddy craned his neck forward, eying the figure laying sprawled out before him. His daughter.

Katherine Krueger.

She was clearly dead, her body remaining perfectly still and her skin was deathly cold and extremely pale. At the right angle you could see her fatal wounds and the dried blood on her clothes.

A sly smirk grew on Freddy's face and with a flick of his blades Katherine's motionless body jerked on the ground, inhaling a deep gulp of air. As if she was coming back to life. Moaning softly she turned onto her back and two dark lifeless eyes stared up at him, her body tensing slightly at the sight of him towering above her. He chortled and beckoned at her with his talons to stand. Without a second's hesitation she climbed to her feet, a little unsteadily.

Letting her arms fall to her sides, she remained unmoving. Unblinking. She had changed dramatically over the last two years. Having little or no emotions, expect for fear of her father and sadness. Despondency of what had happened to her. Her death. Ever since her death she could barely remember what had had happened over the last two years. It was all a blank, but she could still feel her father's presence with her every single second.

Over the last two years Freddy had managed to make her totally submissive, obeying his every will. Destroying every last piece of valour she had. He had finally made her the way he _wanted_ her to be.

His little puppet, who he loved to control.

Grinning maniacally he took a small step towards her, studying her appearance. It was the exact same as when he had murdered her on this very spot two years before. The clothing surrounding her four deep stab wounds were smeared in dried red blood. The garments were tattered and torn, showing the shredded flesh beneath. Her hair was untied and hung over her shoulders, tarnished in her blood. Her pale face was scattered with small cuts and lacerations. Below her collarbone to above her breasts were four parallel gashes, the blood still oozing from the wounds as if only happened within the last few minutes. Her white dress had short sleeves revealing other abrasions and slashes along her arms. If you were to pull up her skirt you would be appalled to see a thick long jagged slit torn up each of her legs from above her knees, the wounds deep and very messy. Her last injury was a long thin scar along her shoulder.

Her skin was cold, her eyes darker in colour. Almost like black. Her thin pale pink lips were pursed tightly together as her expressionless eyes gazed straight at the metal ground.

Her father smiled again, ordering sharply, "Look at me Katherine"

She quickly jerked her eyes up to meet his, a slight tremor going through her body at the look of malice on his burnt visage that soon turned to insane glee. Her breath hitched in her throat as he brought a single blade toward her cheek, tracing the outline of her scars. "It's been a very long time since you've been here" his left hand gesticulated at the boiler room, "Since I killed you, made you _mine_" he grinned widely, showing his rotten charred teeth, "You know, I'm really looking forward to what's in store for them miserable fucks!"

He scrutinized her expression that remained the same. Impassive. Not a single thread of emotion coming from her body language. As though she never really cared, the emotion of caring and showing love was drained out of her. Freddy and the Dream Demons had made sure of it, he had to make sure that she wouldn't betray him. Especially not at this time.

She continued to give him her full attention as he continued, "They're all going to die. One by one. Nancy, Kristen, Joey, Kincaid, Neil…and of course Matthew"

He eyed her quietly, noticing that she didn't flinch or even blink at the mention of his name. Matthew. It seemed as though all his hard work over the last two years had worked. He couldn't sense any sort of feeling towards Matthew from her mind.

It was fucking perfect.

He slowly curled his bladed claw around her face and stated simply, "But you see princess, we have a little problem"

Arching an eyebrow she questioned, "What kind of problem, daddy?"

"Well" his grip loosened around her face, "They've forgotten about me. Except for Nancy and the other piglets. But you see this is where you come in. You're going to help me. Conjure up fear again. To make the children know who I am. To make them have nightmares of me"

Swallowing worryingly she asked once more, "How am I meant to do that sir?"

He flashed her a wicked smile, knowing exactly how to use her.

**x x x**

Springwood Cemetery was shrouded in darkness, a light rain falling from the gloomy night sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a cold wind blew the fallen leaves across the grass beside Katherine Krueger's grave. An old bunch of flowers was set against her tombstone, the petals beginning to wither and die. It was very quiet, perhaps a little bit too quiet.

It was as though something was waiting to happen and it would.

And it did.

The earth around her grave began to shave and quiver, the grass and muck crumbling apart as something broke through. Two pairs of skeletal decayed hands, grasping and tearing as the owner pulled themselves out of their shadowy grave.

Katherine's decaying body scrambled out the gaping hole and turned her decomposed face around to watch as the grave magically reformed, as thought nothing had ever happened. As if her body was still laying in her casket deep below the ground. Her face was ghastly looking, with gruesome mouldering layers of skin, that were crawling with maggots and worms in through the holes were her eyes would have been. Her thick layers of brown hair had withered away to nothing. Her clothes in which she was buried in were ragged, literally hanging off her corpse, it extremely dirty and smudged with mud stains. And the smell stemming from her carcass was revolting to put it mildly.

Stretching to a standing position, her spinal cord was plainly visible through the remnants of her dress. Taking slow steps from her grave she marched onwards.

She had only one destination in mind. Her old home on 1428 Elm Street. The journey was only a twenty minute walk away. She knew she had to keep to the alleyways and small side streets to avoid attention. Despite it being nearly 4am in the morning, she couldn't risk being seen. It would cause hysteria if anyone saw a dead corpse walking about the streets of Springwood.

Crossing the barren road outside the graveyard she ventured southward, her thoughts flickering back and forth to the time she had spent in that dark black void in the last two years. There were some patchy memories of that time. For the first few days after her death, her spirit began to fight and struggle against her father. She felt so angry, so frustrated that she wasn't able to escape from him. That she had unwittingly condemned herself to spend eternity with him. If only she knew.

Freddy wasn't too happy with the way she tried to fight him shortly after her death and she was put through immense physical torture for a short time, while the demons and her father tamed her mind, fully making her submissive. Destroying and banishing her emotions, leaving her to only feel sadness and fear. Fear of her father. Freddy with the help of the demons had made her succumb to his will, following his every command without a second's hesitation.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she came to the back alley behind her home. Her bony feet crunched on the gravel as she continued onwards, passing by people's back yards. All of their gardens looked neat, tidy. Well kept. She knew that hers wouldn't be.

Sluggishly she slowed to a halt outside the worm ridden wooden fence of her back yard. She could instantly feel this presence, her father's presence radiating from the decrepit old house behind the fence. He was waiting for her, she had no time to waste.

Sliding her skeletal hand through the gap in the fence the skeletal bones of her fingers grasped the bolt and slid it across, unlocking the gate and gently pushed it open. Just as she knew it would be, the garden was in disarray. The ground was covered in weeds, the grass was withered away. Small pieces of glass and the odd beer can was strewn about the garden. The back walls of her home was scrawled in graffiti. The main words were of profanities such as '_**you murdering bastard', 'sick fucker'**_ and '_**burn in hell'**_. All of them directed at her father. There was still a lot of hate toward her father lingering in the town. Perhaps the anger the people of Springwood had towards him would never go away.

Shrugging her shoulders she brushed away these thoughts and headed towards the huge wooden double doors that led to the basement of her house. Sliding her hideous hands beneath the handles of the doors, she gave them a mighty tug and they sprung open. Revealing the darkness from within.

Cautiously she descended into the basement, jumping slightly as the doors slammed behind her. Standing silently she waited for some source of light to help guide her and soon she got it. Inside the old rusty furnace there was a small yellow spark and a vibrant hot fire erupted from within, illuminating the basement area.

Swiftly she walked towards the staircase and ascended them to the living room area, that was in the exact same condition when she got viciously whipped and slashed by her father as his sick vile form of punishment for awakening Nancy just before he tried to attack her. This time however, she would never get in his way ever again.

Walking over to the battered couch she slumped down on the grimy cushions, her corpse going stiff and rigid as she inexplicably fell asleep, drifting into the dream world.

Moaning quietly Katherine gasped as she actually felt a blade touch her skin, her flesh. Jerking her eyes awake she looked up into her father's burnt face as he sat beside her, his left arm curled around her shoulder protectively or could it be possessively?

Pulling her eyes away from his, she scanned her now fully fleshed body. Her skin was very pale, with the same wounds and scars in the same areas they were when she was murdered by him. But there was a difference. Her hands were smoother, younger looking.

Freddy smiled darkly and he pointed at the cracked mirror on the wall facing the couch, "Go ahead. Look in the mirror, Katherine"

Slowing getting to her feet her eyes shot towards the mirror, going wide in astonishment as looking back at her was herself as a teenager. Perhaps fifteen or sixteen. Her brown hair was a few shades darker, almost black in colour. Her eyes were also darker, while her hair was a few inches longer and was tied back in a silk red ribbon. The clothes which she wore consisted of a knee length white skirt, cream t-shirt with a few buttons at the top and a matching long sleeved cardigan. On her feet were a pair of ankle socks a pair of white plimsolls. It was very plain. Very innocent like.

Numbly she gazed at her ghastly wounds and lightly touched her scarred face, dejection beginning to spread over her face. But as soon as it appeared, it vanished. Turning back to face her father she froze as he closed the gap between them, a leer creeping over his countenance as he traced the rim of her face with his burnt finger tips, "You know this suits you. I'm going to keep you like this when you fall asleep. I'll have to think of a few other…_forms_ we can change you into when we get to _play _with the little piggies. Would you like that? Huh?"

She nodded mutely, not disagreeing at all.

He smirked, pleased with her answer. "Good girl. Now, I want you to listen to me, very carefully"

Her stature changed, her body straightening as she gave him her full undivided attention, "Yes, sir"

"I want you to mingle with the teenagers. Get to know them, become their friend. Talk to them, tell them about…_me_"

Cocking her head to the side, she raised an eyebrow. Curious as to how she could do this.

He sniggered quietly and continued, "Just say that you've been having bad dreams. Nightmares of this" he gestured around the living room, "house. About the boiler room. Tell them that I'm hunting you, that I want to kill you. Get them curious about me"

"Yes sir"

"And one more thing" he growled softly, his voice and face stern. She gulped, becoming wary. "Keep away from Nancy and her friends until I say so. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir" she nodded vehemently in agreement and was about to open her mouth again, to ask a question, but quickly clamped it shut.

Freddy clucked his tongue, "You were going to say something? Yes?"

"Yes, daddy. Am I going to have my scars when I'm in the real world or…not as many?"

He shook his head, "Oh, no. You'll be unblemished. Unharmed. This is for daddy's eyes only"

She gave a slow nod and tensed yet again as he beckoned her with this blades, "Now, before you go give me a kiss"

Swallowing thickly she raised onto her tiptoes and gave him a light kiss on his charred lips. As she did this he slid his claw around her left side of her waist and with a malicious chuckle jabbed the tips of his blades into her flesh, jerking them along her side just a few inches. Awakening her from the dream.

Rising to her feet her gaze went straight towards the mirror facing her. A startled gasp tore itself from her throat as she noted how normal she looked, how young and rejuvenated she was. It was as though someone had turn back the hands of time. There were some subtle differences to her complexion, like her hair and eye colour.

She had to say she liked looking like this. Shaking her head she lowered her hand and examined the right side of her skirt, noticing that it hadn't been ripped, but she could actually feel a sharp stinging pain on her waist. Pulling the skirt down slightly she saw immediately four parallel cuts about two inches long.

She musingly bit her bottom lip, wondering on whether she should use this wound as evidence that she was being hunted by him. It would be a good way to frighten them, to make them uneasy. But first things were first, she had to find some teenagers.

School would be the most likely place or either in the local areas were the teenagers would hang out. Such as the mall, Craven Inn or one of the local parks.

Another problem was what to call herself. They would want to know her name. Something that wouldn't arouse suspicion. Maybe Katie or Kat. Yes, Kat would be good. No one knew that was her nickname that her father had for her when she was a little girl. She would say that Kat was short for Katie. But as for her surname, it would be safer to use her mother's surname. Emerson.

Katie Emerson. It wasn't that bad at all.

Nodding to herself she walked towards the living room window, peering through the planks of wood covering the shattered glass as the sun began to rise over the horizon. She wondered what day it was, if it was a school day or the weekend. She wanted to make absolutely sure that she made her father pleased with her, see that she was making progress. There was one thing she wasn't going to do and that was to make him angry at her, she had learnt her mistakes when she was alive.

Nearly three hours had passed and still Katherine stood at the window, staring out blankly at the street. Watching as the odd person walked by with their dog or going on a early morning jog. She noted that when they neared her old home they would pick up their pace, hurrying by as if they were afraid something was going to happen if they dared to be near the decrepit house.

Turning away from the window she swiftly exited the house, venturing through the back yard to the alleyway. Her pace was quick and full of vigour as she marched down towards the exit of the alley. Once there she stopped and glanced to the left and right, slowly realising that it must be the weekend. As the streets weren't that busy. The people of Springwood were probably still lying in their beds, lost in their own little dream world.

Gingerly she reached up and untied the red ribbon in her hair, allowing her dark brown hair to fall around her face. Turning to her left she embarked on her journey out of her neighbourhood, crossing a few streets until she came to the edge of her estate. There were a few more people about, most of them adults rushing about getting a few pieces of grocery in from the few convenience stores dotted about the street.

Glancing up she grew anxious at the person coming towards her, the face recognisable. Marge Thompson with her red auburn hair and a cigarette in her right hand. In her free hand she tightly grasped a white plastic bag of food. Taking a deep breath Katherine bowed her head and quickened her pace as they approached each other.

Marge took one last drag on her cancer stick and stubbed it out on the ground as she passed the young girl. Her eyes flickered towards the timid teenager for a split second. She appeared to be new to town, as she wasn't familiar with her. Perhaps her family only recently moved to Springwood.

However, the way she moved, with her head hung low and her body language. It reminded her of something. Rolling her eyes Marge shook her head. Nancy's over reactive imagination was rubbing off on her. And as for Nancy, Marge knew she had not much time left to get the lunch prepared for her daughter and Neil. So, she had to get things moving.

As Katherine neared a small set of traffic lights she came to a stop, looking over her shoulder as Marge disappeared from view. She never knew why she was nervous when she saw Marge, but the possibility of being recognised was probably the cause. Nevertheless, her face and hair colour was different. She was sure that no one would notice her.

Looking up at the street sign above her head, she noted that she was now on the corner of Beech Street and Nineteenth. Craven Inn was directly one hundred yards down to her left across the road. The perfect meeting place for the youth of Springwood. She vaguely remembered as a young girl every Friday after school, the students from her class hurrying over to the Craven Inn for a milkshake or quick get together before heading home.

It would be the ideal place to set her father's plan in motion. All she would have to do is wait. Wait for the right opportunity to encounter teenagers or should she say victims. Her father's future victims. She had to make sure it was a successful day, for her own physical well being. Despite being dead for the last two years she still felt pain, endured it by his hands. And she didn't want to go through it again.

As these thoughts were fluttering about in her mind she had made her way over to the Craven Inn, surprised that the diner had been given a makeover. With a quick fresh lick of paint, a new sign and several new windows and a brand new set of doors. It was as though the management had finally given in and cleaned it up a bit, given it a better image.

She halted outside the huge double doors and eagerly peered through the glass, seeing that the booths were no longer a ruby red, but a deep royal blue. The walls were repainted and a new stylish counter was put in, replacing the old 50s styled one. Gently placing her hands on the door she pushed them opened and quickly entered, feeling slightly apprehensive about what was going to happen today. But it was just her stupid nerves trying to get the better of her. If she played it cool she would get the right result and her father would be happy with her.

Glimpsing around swiftly she noticed four or five people in the diner, unfortunately for her they weren't teenagers. But three men and an old elderly couple.

Without another glance she headed towards the back booth and slid into the seat, pulling the menu over and pretended to read it. Not in the least interested in what culinary delights the diner had to offer. The shuffling of feet made her lift her gaze upwards as a bored looking waitress walked up to her booth, a fake smile spread across her worn face, "Hi, what can I get you?"

Katherine took one last fleeting look at the menu then replied quietly, "A glass of water"

The waitress huffed annoyingly, "A glass of water?"

"Yes" Katherine responded curtly, "Please" her voice was blunt and straight to the point.

Nodding half-heartedly the waitress spun on her heel, placing her notepad back in her front apron pocket, having no need for it this time and went to collect Katherine's water.

For Katherine she had forgotten the taste and smell of food, of any kind of beverage. It now seemed foreign to her. So, the glass of water would have to suffice. Plus she had no money too.

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed and the clock now chimed for mid-day. Katherine's glass of water had barely been touched, with her gaze directed outside the window. Her eyes vacant, lost in thought. Thinking of the long two years she had constantly spent with her father. How she felt no anger or hatred in regards to what he did to her.

But how could she hate him? He had only done it to make sure she could be with him, to protect her from them. Wasn't that love? Didn't that showed he care for her? She knew now, there was no used in fighting him anymore. He was only looking out for her. He was always right. She would never defy him again, it was better this way.

Her thin right hand around her glass of water she raised it to her lips, taking a long gulp and then began to examine her wound from earlier that morning. The scars were now a dark red, about her hip bone. If she did met some potential victims today she wouldn't necessarily show them her injury right away. She didn't want to scare them off.

Another idea she had in mind was to possibly draw a picture of her father. Remembering back to her childhood she knew that she was very good drawing. If she draw a detailed picture of her father she could show it to the teenagers. Her father would definitely approve of that.

The sound of excited voices and frantic footsteps made her jerk her head towards the entrance to the diner. Three all too familiar faces entered, Kristen, Joey and Kincaid. They looked exactly the same as the last time she saw them, only they were a few years older. Flinching with apprehension she shrunk back into her seat, turning to face the window. Peering quickly over her shoulder she was relieved to see them venturing up to the counter. They appeared animated, yet a little tired. It was very surprising to see them so soon. But then again, Springwood was a small town and she was bound to bump into them sooner or later. Hopefully they wouldn't notice her.

Her whole body went rigid with alarm as the trio turned away from the counter, each of them holding a cup of coffee and walked towards a table just a few feet from her booth. Shit! This wasn't good. Not good at all. Her gaze shot towards the window, not wanting to make any sort of eye contact with them.

Sitting with her back towards Katherine, Kristen sat with Joey and Kincaid at either side. Their discussion was about dreams. "You know guys" she mumbled softly, "I'm getting scared about these dreams. I know that he isn't there, but it's as thought it's a sign that something is going to happen"

Rolling his eyes in disbelief Kincaid shook his head, "We've told you before Kris, you need to relax. You're like Nancy. Reading into every single dream you have. It's not good for you"

Joey gave a sly smirk, adding quickly, "And neither is the amount of wine you drunk last night!"

She gave a laugh, "Well, you two were in a worse state than I was" she smiled brightly, thinking back to the racket they were making while trying to sing a RUN-DMC song. "You're right Kincaid. I need to snap out of it, it's over. He's gone"

Katherine's lips twitched as though she wanted to turn around and correct Kristen. Tell her that it wasn't over, that it was jus the beginning. Beginning of the end. But she remained tight-lipped, her father would know the perfect time to reveal herself to Nancy and the others. For the time being she would remain unknown to them, not draw attention to herself. She was always good at that when she was a child. To be in the background, to keep out of people's way. It was the norm for her back then and she could easily do it now.

Her attention was no longer on Kristen and her friends. Her pensive gaze was set on the four teenagers who had entered the diner. Laughing and joking away with each other. There were two girls and two boys. All of them seemed the same age, seventeen or so. Her curious eyes studied them each in turn.

The first being a tall boy with spiky brown hair, broad shoulders and with a muscular build. He reminded her of the jocks that would tease her when she was in Zanesville High School. Loud, obnoxious and rude. They always thought they were something special. He held hands with a gorgeous blond haired girl, she was about five inches shorter with bright blues eyes. They seemed very much suited for each other, as he lightly gave her a peck on her right cheek.

The other two teenagers acted differently. More like a brother and sister. But they didn't look anything alike. The girl was short at 5'1, shoulder length black hair, dimples and a small button nose. The boy was tall, but not as tall as his friend. He stood at 5'10, shaven hair and greyish blue eyes.

They seemed chirpy, happy. Relaxed, as thought they hadn't a care in the world. She watched with quiet curiosity as the two girls grabbed the booth next to hers, while the boys ordered something at the counter.

Glancing briefly over to Kristen and her friends, she was pleased to see that they were gathering their belongings and soon departed the diner. It gave her a sense of relief to have them leave the diner. It was very unnerving to pass by Marge Thompson, but to be in the same room as Kristen, Joey and Kincaid. Well, that was totally unexpected. She knew that she had to let her father know as soon as possible, explain to him that it was out of her hands. That she had no control over the matter and that she never engaged in any sort of conversation with them.

Gently she reached up and pulled her hair back from her face, tying it in her red silk ribbon. Her pale emotionless face now exposed once more. Her eyes had bags underneath, as though she was suffering from a few sleepless nights. It was a little trick she had up her sleeve, to help fool them to think that she was suffering from exhaustion.

Taking her glass in her grasp once more, she downed the rest of the water and leaned back in the seat and titled her gaze towards the window. Her eyes darted momentarily toward their booth as the two boys walked over with a tray of milkshakes and handed them to the girls.

The black haired girl glanced over to her for a brief second then back towards her friend, who leaned over to whisper, "What are you looking at her for Louise?"

"I haven't recognised her before" Louise mumbled lowly, "Do you recognise her Stacey?"

Stacey gave Katherine a quick prying look, then shook her head, "No. She must be new. Probably the year below us. She looks sixteen or so" she shrugged and sipped her chocolate milkshake. The topic of conversation quickly turning towards their plans for that evening, "So, what are the plans for tonight? Is Shane definitely having a party tonight?" her eyes shot towards her boyfriend, "Chris are you sure that Shane's parents are away tonight?"

He nodded, "Yes Stace, I'm sure! I phoned him last night and his house is free. So, it's party time from 7pm until dawn!"

The other male who sat beside Louise pushed his empty milkshake glass to the side, "Whose all going?"

"I haven't a clue man, but there is about thirty to forty people. But to be honest Paul, I don't give a shit as long as I'm there with my girl" he wrapped his left arm around Stacey's arm warmly, "and with a beer in my hand!"

Chuckling quietly Paul gave a curt nod, glimpsing swiftly at Louise as she took another fleeting look over her shoulder at the young girl behind them. She gave a solemn sigh, "I think we should invite her over. She looks very lonely. I'm sure she would appreciate the chance to meet new people"

Turning around to her friends, she raised an eyebrow egging them on to agree with her. It seemed like the best and most kind hearted thing to do. Her eyes locked with Stacey who nodded silently, concurring wholeheartedly. They too were in the same situation when they came to this town two years ago. She remembered being afraid, very lonely until she met Chris, Paul and Louise. It was nice to be friendly and the young girl would be thankful for some interaction with other teenagers. "She's right guys. We should invite her over. What harm will it do, huh?"

Smiling brightly Louise slid out of the booth followed by Stacey and with a friendly smile they headed towards Katherine's booth. The younger girl looked up from the window as they approached, feigning surprise as the girls stood at her table.

"Hi, I'm Louise and this is Stacey" she nodded at her friend, "We were wondering would you like to join our table? I assume that you're new in town and we thought it would be a good idea for you to meet new people"

At first Katherine's face was full of uncertainty, contrived uncertainty and slowly a small smile appeared as she replied, "That would be really great. Thank you. I've just moved here about two weeks ago"

Stacey grinned and helped to pull over chair to their table. Sliding out of her booth, Katherine gave a strange smile and sat beside them as Stacey introduced the boys to her. "This is Paul and this is Chris, my boyfriend"

She nodded politely, "I'm Katie. Katie Emerson and I've just turned sixteen. But you can call me Kat if you want"

"Is that your nickname?" Paul asked.

"Yes, it is. Are you two" she gestured towards Louise, "an item too?"

He gave a soft hearty laugh and shook his head, "Oh, no. Louise is my stepsister. My mum is married to her dad"

"Ah right"

Taking one last slurp of his milkshake Chris cleared his throat and asked, "So, where you from? Where do you live? You like living here?"

She gave a casual shrug of her shoulders, "It's okay. I moved here from Cleveland. I live on Elm Street, near that old creepy house. Number 1428" she closely watched their faces as they went taut with apprehension at the mention of that house, "I have to say I've been rather bored. I haven't met many people"

"Okay. So, is it just you and or do you have any brothers or sisters?" Stacey questioned. Trying to shake off the chill that shot up her spine at the mention of that house on Elm Street. She never knew why, but she always got the creeps every time she passed it when going home each day from school. Why couldn't the local council just not knock it down or put some money into renovating it?

"It's just me and my father. My mother passed away when I was little" Katherine muttered sadly.

Louise nodded solemnly, "Sorry to hear that. I know how it feels to lose someone. My mother passed away too"

She gave a weak smiled, desperately wanting to say that Louise didn't know how she felt. No one did. Her mother probably wasn't murdered by her father in the back yard in front of her. She never witnessed her mother's life being ripped from her. However, she remained quiet. "It's kind of hard. So, what do you guys think of Springwood?"

Chris sighed. "It's okay. Not much to do at the weekends or during the summer. It can be very boring. Not ever happens in town"

"Yeah" Paul concurred, "It sucks"

Katherine nodded sluggishly, then asked. "Do you guys hang out here or are there other places you go to?"

Louise crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward onto them, "We usually come here or to the mall" she hesitated, "Look, I know you've only met us, but we're going to a friends house tonight for a party. There'll be loads of people there. A good chance for you to meet them and get to know them better. So, do you want to go?"

A triumphant grin etched its way onto her face and she nodded eagerly, "That would be great. Thanks"

"Cool!" she chirped cheerily, "Oh and just to warn you there'll be drinking if you're not used to that sort of thing"

"It's fine. Would it be okay if meet you here tonight? What time suits you?" she rose to her feet slowly.

"About 7?"

"That'll be great. Thanks. See you later" she gave a quick wave of her right hand as she left the diner. They peered through the window as she walked down the sidewalk, unaware that their chance meeting with this shy new girl would turn their sweetest dreams into their deadliest nightmares.

**x x x **

Walking as fast as her feet could carry her Katherine was extremely eager to get to her old home. She had to let her father know of her progress, her good news. And it was good news. She had made contact with those four teenagers and was invited to this party. She would have to ask his advice on what to do next, how she would react around these group of teenagers. And any little tips on how to let slip that she was experiencing terrifying nightmares.

It didn't take her that long to reach home and within a matter of minute she was laying herself down on her old dusty bed. The upper floor of her home needed as much repair as downstairs. Even if she turned on her side in her bed, the floorboards creaked beneath the bed. Settling herself down comfortably she closed her eyes and within a minute or so, she could hear the small repetitive clicking of her father's bladed claw from her left. Shooting up in bed she looked up to him, her eyes twinkling with satisfaction.

Freddy crouched down slightly, brushing his scarred hand over now wounded face, "So, have you any news for me princess?"

Nodding enthusiastically, a sly smile grew on her face. "Yes sir"

A dark chuckle bubbled from his throat and he leaned in closer, "That's my girl. Now, tell daddy all about it"

* * *

**_Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks.  
Paula._**


	3. Warning Sign

**  
Author's Note:** Sorry for the long delay in putting up this chapter. It's just lack of time, motivation and oh yes, facebook is taking over my life lol. Please review. Cheers.

* * *

**Chapter 3: **Warning Sign

"That was great Mrs Thompson" Neil grinned as he finished his beef lasagne and placed down his fork, "Thank you"

Smiling proudly Marge blushed, reaching over to take the dirty plate from the table, "Oh, you're welcomed. You and Nancy are welcomed anytime for lunch _or_ dinner. Just let me know"

Nancy gave an appreciative smile at her mother and began to assist her in clearing the table. While Neil and her father Donald made their way into the living room where they slumped into seats beside the fireplace, away out of the women's way as they started to wash the dishes.

Standing side by side, Marge and Nancy talked quietly about Neil. "You know sweetheart, I'm still going to say it but Neil is a lovely man. I'm so happy that you're together. Properly I mean. Moving into together. Who knows some day soon he may you know…._ask _you"

Nancy gave her mother a bewildered look as she slid open the cutlery drawer as her mother passed her several pieces of clean dry knives and forks, "What do you mean ask me?"

Lowering her voice Marge glanced quickly into the living room, "To marry him"

Laughing in disbelief Nancy shook her head, "Mom, I don't think he's going to ask me to marry him. It's…just too soon"

"Too soon?" her mother snorted, "Nancy darling, you've been going out with Neil for what nearly a year and a half? You're living together. He's bound to ask sometime"

Half turning toward her mother Nancy sighed, "Listen mom, I'm happy with the way things are at the moment. I'm not even thinking about marriage or even getting engaged. I know you would love to organise my wedding" she grinned, "but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon"

Heaving a sigh of disappointment Marge turned towards the coffee maker and small jar of coffee that sat beside it, beginning to make four mugs of coffee. Placing the last plate into the cupboard Nancy mused over the discussion with her mother. It seemed that her mother had her heart set on Nancy getting married, perhaps it was because she was an only child and it was a dream of hers to see her child wed and happy. Maybe her mother assumed that because she wasn't married that she wasn't happy. But she _was_. She had never been so content with her life in a very long time. If only her mother could see it.

Shaking her head she pushed her thoughts to the side for the time being and carried a large plate of biscuits into the living room, while Marge carried the tray of coffee mugs. They set them on he large circular wooden coffee table. Turning towards the large grey sofa, Nancy gave Neil a brisk smile and sat beside him. Both of them instinctively clasping each other's hand.

Marge pulled out a small packet of cigarettes from her pocket, pulling one of the small cancer sticks out and quickly lit up, "I've been meaning to ask, how are Kristen and her friends? It's Kincaid and Joey, right?"

Nancy nodded, leaning over to grab her mug of coffee, "They're doing great. They're doing well at college. Enjoying the benefits of college life. Meeting new friends and enjoying the countless parties that happen at the campus"

Puffing quietly on her cigarette, Marge gave a small smile. "That's good. I'm glad. I know that they were going through a hard time. What with those nightmares…you know"

A loud scoff came from her right as Donald shook his head in disbelief. Still not accepting that his wife was still believing all those crazy theories about Krueger being responsible for the spate of deaths and random disappearances two years before. It was something out of the twilight zone. Leaning back in his chair he gulped greedily at his coffee, giving his wife a glare.

Noticing this Nancy cleared her throat and directed her attention towards her mother, "It's over mom. He's gone. Krueger isn't coming back" It was very hard for her to come to terms that her mother had actually believed her and her friends about Krueger and the nightmares. It was due to Katherine's death that Marge's opinion changed. Whereas her father still didn't believe her and she doubted he would ever believe her. What did he call her once?

Crazy. Yeah, a crazy foolish girl.

"He isn't coming back, because it _never_ happened Nancy. None of it happened" her father stated bluntly.

Losing her cool, she snapped her head towards his direction, snarling quietly. "So, what do you think happened dad? A mass spate of suicides? Disappearances? It was him, it was Krueger. He was punishing the children for" she pointed at him, "your mistakes. You and mom's"

He rolled his eyes and set his mug onto the coffee table, leaning his elbows onto his knees. "Nancy, listen to yourself. You still believe all that bullshit about dreams? It is nothing but a load of nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" she hissed fiercely, "How do you explain what happened to Katherine in her old house on Elm Street? He attacked her and then murdered Alex. He hanged him!"

"No Nancy, that's were you are wrong" her father retorted, "Your old patient attacked her and then consumed by his guilt he hanged himself. That is what happened. If you want to talk about your little shit dream theories then go ahead" he rose to his feet, "I'm not going to sit around and listen"

Without another word he walked briskly out of the room, his feet pounding on the steps as he marched upstairs leaving Marge embarrassed by her husband's sudden behaviour in front of Neil. Clearing her throat she gave an apologetic smile, "I apologise for Donald. He's not usually like this"

"There's no need to apologise mom" Nancy sighed exasperatedly, "Dad is just being stubborn. As usual"

Nodding slowly Marge knew her daughter was right. "Would you like anymore coffee?" she asked.

"No, it's okay mom" Nancy shook her head, her mood now severely hampered by that abrupt discussion just a few minutes before. She wanted to go home to her apartment. "How about you and dad come around some evening. I'll make us a nice meal?"

"That would be lovely honey" Marge smiled warmly. "Look, I'll let you go. It was nice seeing you again Neil"

He nodded politely and waved her goodbye as he escorted Nancy out of the house. Leaving Marge readying herself to confront her husband. It was time to have a word with him.

**x x x **

It had a very long day for Kristen and maybe the reasoning behind it was due to her hangover. Perhaps the next time she took a drink, she would lay off the wine. It went to her head a little too easily for her liking.

She lay lazily on her single bed, flicking through a celebrity magazine, browsing at the pictures and articles. But not particularly paying much attention. All she was thinking of was a nice little nap, before she got stuck into her work for college. Yeah, that would be nice indeed.

Placing the magazine onto her small dressing table beside her bed, she stretched her limbs and snuggled against her purple coloured pillow. Closing her eyes her breathing slowed, her body becoming relaxed. Serenity overcoming her, until she was fast asleep.

Minutes later Kristen groaned in her sleep, the room beginning to darken and distort into an old decrepit living room. Turning onto her other side, she mumbled quietly and slowly her eyes began to open. Adjusting to the darkness. Blinking several times she sluggishly sat up and then looked at her new surroundings. She now lay on a tattered, dusty, bug ridden mattress in the middle of the Elm Street living room. Like the boiler room, the 1428 Elm Street house was a place she would never forget as long as she lived.

Scampering off the mattress, she held back her squeals of disgust at several beetles and coach roaches slithering over the mouldy material of the mattress. Backing away she looked vigilantly about the living room, sneezing violently at the dust and grim lingering in the air.

As she approached the entrance to the kitchen area, she jumped as a small darkened figure of a little girl rushed by straight towards the basement door. Standing rooted to the spot, Kristen contemplated on following the girl or not.

All the other dreams had been the same, with her walking through the cold, barren boiler room. Nothing had happened.

But now, something _was_ happening.

Taking a deep shaky breath she inched her way toward the door, hearing the girls' faint footsteps as she hurried further into the basement. But Kristen knew that behind that door wasn't the basement, but the power plant. The little girl was luring her to the boiler room, she just knew it.

She reached out with her quivering hands and pushed the door opened, squeezing through the gap into the beginning of a dark metal passageway. Oh, how Kristen hated being right. There was a slam behind her as the door shut behind her. There was only one way now and that it was onwards, down the dimly lit passageway of the power plant.

She waited for a few seconds, glancing briefly above her head at the cracked pipes. Thankfully no steam was seeping from the fissures, the pipes were therefore cold. Licking her lips momentarily Kristen then trotted forward, glimpsing as the young girl glanced over her shoulder. Her face shrouded in the darkness. Kristen could barely make out a knee length dress adorning the young girl as she veered around the corner out of sight.

Picking up her speed Kristen broke into a run, knowing that she was perhaps making a mistake following the young girl. But in certain situations your sense of acumen goes out the window. Your heart overrules your head.

Kristen quickly slowed down to a halt as she entered the boiler room, her nervous gaze falling upon the young girl standing silently at the dormant furnace. Her dress was a bright yellow colour, with white frills at the rim of her dress and on the edge of her sleeves and around her collar. Her hands lay limply at her side, her wrists were bruised with some minor cuts around her hands and lower arm areas. Her face was surrounded by her dark brown hair that was wet and covered her face.

Clearing her throat softly, Kristen approached her, "Hi…what are you doing here? This is a very dangerous place for a little girl to be in"

The girl whimpered and shrugged nervously, "I was told to wait here"

Swallowing thickly Kristen took a side step towards the furnace, stretching out her left arm to touch the metal. Finding it to be cold, deathly cold. There was nothing to worry about. All she had to do was keep calm. Directing her gaze to the girl once more, she asked, "What are you waiting for?"

The little girl's voice was low, barely above a whisper as she replied, "You know _who_ I'm waiting for" Without waiting for Kristen to reply the girl turned towards her, pulling back her wet hair from her disfigured face. Around her eyes and upper left cheek area were deep black, blue and purple abrasions. From the rim of her chin toward her right ear her skin was hideously burnt, as though her face was savagely pushed against something hot. Like the furnace.

Gasping at the girl's ghastly face, Kristen staggered back shaking her head as the little girl began to sing an all too familiar song. The jump rope song. As she sang, blood started to seep through her yellow dress, right above her stomach area. Her cold void eyes locked onto Kristen's as she whispered out the last rhyme of the song, deep red blood trickling from the corner of her pale lips, "Nine ten…never sleep again"

Kristen jerked awake in her bed, breathing heavily. Her brow covered in a cold sweat. Shakily she stood, feeling strangely nauseated and like lightening she rushed into her adjoining bathroom, throwing up the contents of her stomach. Pushing herself away from the toilet, she staggered to her feet toward the sink turning on the cold tap. Splashing the cool water onto her face, she tried to calm her frantic breathing. She was in shock, something was definitely up with the dreams as of late. Firstly, she was having dreams of the boiler room being dormant, the pipes being cold. But now this dream of that little girl singing that fucking jump rope song. She had to be a spirit of one of Krueger's victims.

It had to be a warning sign. And she had to tell Nancy. Right away.

Freddy's dark malevolent laughter echoed throughout the boiler room, as he emerged from the shadows. A grin gracing his burnt countenance as he watched his daughter transform from her little girl 'form; back into her grown up appearance. Her injuries now marring her face, her dress now changed into the white dress she was murdered in. Mechanically she turned to face him expectantly, "Did I do well sir?"

He nodded in accord, "You did daddy proud"

A twinkle of satisfaction shone in her eyes at this statement. It was a sentence she rarely heard from him. That he was proud of her. She had to keep this good work, make sure she kept this hard work up.

Stalking toward his daughter Freddy smirked, "I'm not going to show myself to them fucks. Not yet. That was just a little surprise, a way to conjure up their fear. To get them to lose control of themselves. It'll get their adrenaline going!" he cackled darkly, "But as for tonight, I want you to tell as many people as you can about me. The more who know about me, the more dreams I can enter into. Right?"

She nodded curtly, "Yes sir"

Patting her head lightly as you would a pet, Freddy cocked his head to the side and questioned, "So, did you enjoy it? Using your power to change into that little girl?"

Instantly she nodded, "Yes, I never realised I had that power"

"You do. But _I'll_ decide when you can use it. You understand me?" he stated sternly.

She gulped and nodded once more. Noticing how stern the tone of his voice was in regards to this.

Glancing at her briefly he then turned towards the unlit furnace, flicking his blades sharply and soon a hot vibrant fire roared to life inside, casting a hazy glow throughout the room. Krueger knew he had to be very vigilant this time. He knew that when he had killed Katherine and had brought her over to his world, that she would gain his powers. It was a deal he made with the demons.

However, she wasn't aware of this little agreement. Only when he decided to use Katherine as a ploy to enter Kristen's dream that he disclosed to her that she could change her appearance into young little girls of different ages, with varying horrendous manners of marring her face and body. Morphing her body into any way she wished. But only with his consent.

He knew that if she discovered she had more powers, then her curiosity would take over and she would want to use them. But he couldn't allow it. If she were to come into contact with Nancy and her pathetic friends, then there was the possibility of them turning his daughter against him. He just couldn't allow that to happen. She belonged with him, not them.

Casting a quick glance over his shoulder he saw her remained rooted to the spot, her gaze set downwards at the cold hard concrete. She was like a statute, unmoving. Not flinching an inch. Like a slave waiting for it's next command. He turned towards her, grabbing her attention as she looked up to him. "You can leave princess. Have a little…walk. But remember I'll be watching you" he waved her away with his bladed claw.

Nodding slowly she spun on her heel, trotting into the passageway, her mind quickly being filled with thoughts of what had happened earlier. To say she was taken back by her father's calm composure after telling her about nearly bumping into the Elm Street children was an understatement. She tried her best to distinguish any hint of anger or disappointment in his ace. But her father's emotions was always hard to decipher.

After disclosing that Kristen and her two friends were in the diner, she declared quickly that she made sure not to draw any attention to herself and thankfully they never noticed her. Her father though had never said a word. His eyes holding a distant look, as though he was lost in thought. Now, she was starting to become overwhelmed with worry.

Katherine came to a stop at a dead end, beside a long rusty metal ladder that led to a catwalk above. Shrugging her shoulders she turned towards it, gripping the bar tightly with her hands and then began to climb. _Up_. Her bony fingers grasped the rim of the metal grating of the catwalk and with a low grunt, she pulled herself onto the gangway and shakily stood.

Wiping her hair from her scarred face she immediately froze at the faint sound of screeching. Her father's claw. Cringing at the horrible sound she clamped her hands onto the railings. Having never liked that sound. Ever since she could remember. When she was ten or so and how he would taunt her during one of her beatings, dragging a single blade of his claw against the metal doorway of his secret room. It gave her the shivers, each and every time.

Again the sound of the screech echoed in the distance, however it was slightly closer than before. There was a few seconds of silence until a low hiss came from her right. The sound distorting and slurring together until words came floating out of the darkness, "You've been a bad girl…princess"

Her legs shook as she twisted her head towards the right, peering in the darkness for any sign of him. There was none. From behind there was a low nefarious giggle and a sharp screech made her jump and spin around to face him. A squeal tore from her dry throat as he sprang forward, his burnt coarse left hand wrapping around her frail neck and in a split second he drew her close to him.

Sobbing quietly she cowered in his grip, "Daddy….please. What did I do wrong?"

He squeezed hard, growling with disdain. "You _know_ Katherine"

A whimper left her throat as he closed the gap further, his face looming closer to hers. Her dark brown eyes darted about wildly. "W-what sir? I d-don't understand"

"I told you to keep away from them Elm Street shits!" his voice was low, full of anger and malice, "but you disobeyed me!"

Katherine sniffled, salty tears streaming down her quivering face. "I told you daddy, I didn't know they were going to come into the diner. I swear!"

Swiftly he slapped her across the face with the back of his bladed glove. Hard. "Don't give me that shit. You should have left the diner. What if they decided to talk to you? Huh? You just didn't think, you stupid brat!"

Another wretched sob escaped from Katherine's now busted lip, "I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again. I promise"

Loosening his grip on her throat he backed away a little, a warped smile growing across his face as he discreetly placed the tips of his bladed claw over her stomach area, "You better hope it doesn't" and with a chuckle he drove his blades deep into her flesh.

Shrieking in utter pain, her head drooped forward her dark brown eyes going wide with horror at her own blood pouring down her dress, staining it red. Jabbing the blades in deeper Freddy chuckled again and then withdrew his weapon, smiling fiendishly as she collapsed to the ground. Hurriedly she began to apply pressure to he wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. Wearily she looked up at him, her face contorted into an expression of confusion.

He laughed, reaching down to pull her to her feet. Staggering backwards she leaned against the railing as her father stepped in front of her, waving a bloodied blade in front of her tear streamed face. "You're forgetting. Just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't _feel _pain" his charred black tongue slipped out of his lips, gliding across the bloodied blade, licking at her blood, "That you can't _bleed_. Understand? Now, I expect no more mistakes from you"

Instantly she nodded in agreement, "Yes sir. I understand"

"Good" he smiled and then lightly kissed her on the lips, leaving them there for a few seconds more than she would have liked. Sensing her sudden uneasiness Freddy leaned back, flashing her a wicked perverse smile. "It's time for you to wake up. It's nearly time for you to meet up with your new…'_acquaintances_'. Remember Katherine, tell as many of them as you can. Don't stay for too long. Be back for midnight. Think before you speak"

In a flash she disappeared from the dream world. Leaving her father alone. He knew that he only had to wait for a little while longer until news of his legend spread amongst the youth of the town. Soon, the children will belong to him once more. Springwood would be his once again.

Sitting quietly on her old bed, Katherine stared at her smooth stomach. At the area where her father had stabbed her in the dream. It felt numb, sensitive to touch. Peering closely at her skin, she could barely see four faint stab marks. Little dents were the blades had pierced her flesh.

Yanking down her shirt she shakily stood from her bed and jadedly walked out of her bedroom, down the murky landing to the bathroom. The wallpaper covering the walls were scrawled in graffiti from past youths who had broken into the house. Using the back of her hand she wiped at the dirt and dust on the cracked mirror, cleaning it as best as she could so she could stare at her blank, pale face.

Deep down she knew she had to put on a façade tonight, be cheery and excited about this party. It was a task she wasn't looking forward to. As she knew that her attire and lack of makeup would make her stand out like a sore thumb. The majority of the girls there would be all glammed up with their makeup, fashionable clothes and would look down at her. Just like when she was High School. All the girls were obnoxious stuck up bitches. Just as she believed they would be tonight. They would most certainly give her disgusted looks, believing that she was below them. But Katherine didn't care, they would all end up dead anyway. They would be the ones below _her_, deep underneath the ground in their own casket.

Nodding silently at her dark thoughts she left the room, running her hands through her hair fixing it as best she could. It was time to get ready. Time to get the games started.

**x x x **

"Something is definitely wrong Nancy, I know it!" Kristen hissed sharply, pacing Nancy's living room. "That dream…I just can't get that girl's face out of my head"

Springing up from her seat Nancy grasped Kristen's shoulders, her voice serious yet soft, "Kristen it was only a dream. Nothing more"

Shaking her head defiantly the younger woman rebuked, "No, Nancy I'm telling you. Something is going to happen. That young girl sang _that_ song. His song. The jump rope song"

Sighing Nancy pulled her friend down onto the sofa beside her, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly. "You're becoming paranoid. Kristen, before you had that dream were you thinking of the others dreams you have had over the last few weeks? About the boiler room?"

"Yes and I thought it would have just been like that. But it was different. Totally different. I think it's a sign. Like a warning or something"

There was a snort of disbelief from Kincaid and Joey as they sat on the other two single sofa seats. Shaking his head Kincaid pointed at Kristen briefly, "Listen girl, the more you freak out. The more crazy and out of control your dreams will be. You need to chill out, relax. Forget about the nightmare. Being paranoid isn't healthy for your mind. Whatever that dream was, it's over now"

"Yeah" Joey agreed wholeheartedly, "If you worry then we'll worry" he paused, turning toward Nancy. "Nancy, is Neil going to check if there are any hypnocil left?"

"Of course, he's there tonight. I'll call him. But please remember, if you need and dream therapy to help repress the dreams let me or Neil know and we'll get it organised. Okay?"

The three of them eagerly nodded in agreement.

"Good. Look, do you guys want to stay here for a few hours? Keep me company before I head to Westin Hills? I'll drop you home"

"That would be great thanks" Kristen chirped, feigning a smile. But inside she still believed that the nightmare meant something and that they had to be on their guard.

Striding down the bustling street, Katherine's pensive gaze was set straight towards the Craven Inn Diner. It was heaving with activity, with numerous teenagers hanging outside on the sidewalk chatting away. Inside there was a hustle of noise and laughter. The majority of the voices belonging to teenagers. As she passed a parked car, she gave a sideways glanced in the window at her reflection. She had managed to pull half her hair away from her face, tying it in a small plait. Nothing too fancy. She had found an old necklace in her room, a small silver necklace with the initial K and had decided to wear it. Her face still was very pale, with bags underneath her eyes which looked extremely tired. A little trick she pulled before she left the Elm Street house. They were bound to notice how exhausted she looked and would undoubtedly ask her questions.

Her main aim for this evening was to get as many people as curious about her dreams as possible. The more she told the happier her father would be. That little violent incident earlier had made her aware that he could easily dish out her medicine whether she behaved or not. And it terrified her.

Taking one last fleeting look about the sidewalk she then pushed the two double doors of the diner open, shyly moving inside as her eyes scanned the area. Searching out Stacey and Louise. It didn't take long to catch sight of them sitting in the same booth from earlier. They seemed very well suited for the party. Dress wise that is. With nice glamorous strapped tops, with stylish jeans and pumps. They ate quietly at their plates of hamburgers and French fries, not noticing her presence until she slowly walked up to them. A knowing smile etched across her face as she stopped beside the table, "Hi"

"Hey" Stacey chirped, in between munching on her fries, "Glad you could make it! Pull up a chair. You want some fries?"

Shaking her head curtly Katherine politely declined, "I'm fine thanks. So, when is this party starting at?"

"I think it's started already. Shane's parents are away for the weekend since this morning. I think he bunked off school to get the place ready. Beware he's really into his drink. Gets smashed at every party he holds. Bit of a jerk though" Louise stated, "We're just waiting on Chris and Paul coming. They are away to get essentials"

Katherine rose an eyebrow, slightly confused. "Essentials?"

"Beer!" Louise smiled broadly, "Paul has a knack of creating false Ids and getting our drink easily"

Nodding slowly, Katherine didn't care less. All she wanted was to get to this party, to get his night over and done with. Glimpsing momentarily over her shoulder at the crowded diner, she asked. "Is everyone here going to the party?"

Stacey shrugged, "I'm not sure. We'll find out soon enough. So…how was your day?"

"It was…okay" Katherine murmured quietly, "I had a walk through town. Trying to get used to it a little more. But I hate walking past that house. On Elm Street. The one with the red door and the green tiled roof"

"Oh, you mean 1428? Yeah" Louise nodded in accordance, "I hate walking past it too. Really fucking creepy"

Believing that this was a good opportunity to talk about her dreams, Katherine opened her mouth to speak. But was abruptly cut off as Paul and Chris hurried into the diner, holding two or three plastic bags each. Each bag containing cans of beer for the party. Their essentials as Louise had stated a few minutes before. Waving animatedly over to them Paul smiled, "Come on girls. Let's get going!"

Grinning widely Stacey and Louise swiftly stood from the booth, with Katherine close behind as they marched out of the diner following Paul and Chris as they lead the way. During the journey Katherine was quizzed about her life and wisely Katherine used her father's suggestion. Thinking before she spoke.

"I don't think I've seen you about school" Stacey muttered out loud.

"Oh" Katherine thought quickly, "I'm being schooled at home for the time being. I should be enrolled at the school in the next week or so"

"Cool. Do you still keep in touch with your friends from your old town?"

"No, I kind of lost touch. I was…kind of quiet in school. Didn't have many friends" she replied truthfully.

Glancing at each other for a second, Stacey and Louise felt a tinge of pity for the new girl. "I'm sure you'll make friends here. People are generally nice"

Feigning a smile Katherine once, listening once more as another question was asked by Stacey. "What kind of music are you into?"

"Oh" Katherine gave her shoulders a casual shrug. "Anything with a good beat and good lyrics"

"Yeah, some of the music nowadays is a load of shit. But half the time I just find myself singing along to the songs!" Louise quipped merrily, a smile now gracing her face as they crossed the road into the neighbourhood where the party was being held.

Turning her gaze toward the houses as they passed, Katherine was slightly taken back at how prestigious and grand the houses were. It appeared the estate was just new, perhaps built in the last few years. With lush green lawns, all of them kept in perfect condition with white picket fences surrounding each garden.

Very serene. _Perfect_.

It made Katherine want to throw up in revulsion. The people who lived in this area were very well off, with their fancy cars and houses. All high and mighty, because they have more cash than other people. She was dreading meeting this guy Shane. God only knew how arrogant he was.

Slowing to a stop she lifted her gaze towards their destination. Number 145 Harrington Manor. The tiles on the roof were a dark grey, two large white pillars stood tall beside the front yellow door. Through the windows she could see partygoers going to and fro, each of their silhouettes carrying cans or a plastic cup in their hands. Loud rock music vibrated from inside the large house along with joyous laughter and chatter. It seemed that the party was in full swing and it was only coming up to 8pm.

Following Stacey and her friends, Katherine bounded up the path her hands rubbing together in anticipation of what was going to happen tonight, a sly smile pulling at the corner of her lips as the Louise knocked at the door. A few seconds later the yellow door was swung opened, revealing a tall strapping teenager. His green eyes lit up in glee as he high-fived Paul and Chris, "Hey, glad you mother fuckers could make it! C'mon in, there's cups in the kitchen. Help yourself!"

"Thanks Shane!" Chris grinned and quickly he made his way towards the large kitchen area with Paul in tow. The three girls filed into the house, with Shane now eyeing the new comer with curiosity. "Who's the chick?"

Katherine growled inwardly, disliking this guy already. Cocky little fuck.

"She has a name" Stacey snapped back, glowering at him. "It's Katie Emerson. She's new in town. She's our guest. Okay?"

"I'm just asking" he gave a shrug and slugged back his Budweiser. Then left to mingle with the other partygoers, muttering as he passed her. "Welcome to Springwood"

Ignoring him Katherine followed Stacey and Louse into the large kitchen, grabbing herself a chair near the large circular table where various plates of nibbles and a large punch bowl was situated. Various teenagers giddily walked into the kitchen, queuing up as they waited to fill up their cups with beer from two large beer kegs that sat upon the kitchen counter. Two large sliding doors were pulled open, showing the huge back yard that had several small tables dotted around the edge of a large swimming pool that was covered with a large silver sheet. At each table were numerous people, all of them drinking their alcoholic beverages and laughing away their worries.

The backyard stretched for about approximately forty yards with a small summer house in the right hand-side of the garden. With verdant rose bushes scattered here and there near the large brown wooden fence. Pulling her gaze away from outside Katherine looked up to Louise as she held out a white plastic cup, "There you go"

Cautiously she took the cup off her, peering inside to see an orange liquid. "Is there alcohol in this?"

"No" she shook her head, "Just orange juice. But if you want a beer just let me know and I'll get you one"

"Oh, no I'm fine thanks" she responded and took a small sip of her beverage.

"You know. You remind me of myself" Louise stated bluntly, "What I mean is…you're quiet"

Becoming embarrassed Katherine's cheeks went red, "Yeah. Um, do you know many people here?"

"I know some people from my classes. But I wouldn't normally hang out with them. I'm more friendly with Stacey" she gave a sheepish smile, "To be honest I'm a bit of a loner"

Katherine smiled sadly to herself, "I know what you mean"

From behind Louise a group of boys huddled together as they shared a joint, smoking freely, inhaling the fumes as they revelled in their illegal high. The smoke billowed high into the air, making Louise cough and splutter as she waved her left hand in the air. "You want to go outside for some fresh air? I know some people at that table, I can introduce you to them?"

Katherine nodded half heartedly as she mentally took a note of how chesty her cough was. Perhaps this could be a way of harming her, killing her. She would have to tell her father this. Any detail whether it be little or not would be of use to him.

Time swiftly went in as Katherine stood with Louise and a few of her class mates, listening as they talked. Keeping quiet unless spoken to. Their conversation wasn't really that interesting to her until, a name cropped up. Two or three of the boys at the table were discussing their coach at school. Someone she knew when she was alive.

Matthew Reid.

Freezing on the spot, she shivered thinking back to the image of him forcing himself upon her in Westin Hills. But it wasn't him, it was her father possessing his body. Using him to get to her. However, she would never feel the same way in regards to Matthew ever again. Her father had made sure of that. It was over. Her only focus was on her task tonight.

A warm hand fell upon her shoulder, startling her as she spun around to face Stacey, Paul and Chris. The latter looking slightly drunk as he downed another can of beer. Smiling apologetically, Stacey handed her another cup of lemonade, "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry for jumping like that. I'm just a little tired…that's all"

"I noticed the bags underneath your eyes. Is there…you know anything troubling you?" she asked.

Inside Katherine laughed with triumph. It was time to tell all. Time to let the tale of her father spread. "Oh, nothing really. I'm just having a hard time sleeping. I've been having nightmares" she gave a fake nervous laugh, "It's really stupid. But it's about the old house on Elm Street. I think…it's haunted"

The crowd of five to six people gathered at the table they were at, perked up listening to her as she talked. Their curiosity getting the best of them as they hushed their conversations.

Stacey too was overcome with inquisitiveness, "Haunted? How?"

"Well" she began, "Ever since I've moved here I've been having dreams of that house. I think…someone is trying to kill me. I thought it was my imagination. But my dreams are getting worse. That's why I'm not sleeping at night. I try to stay awake"

A loud scoff of laughter came from behind them as Shane drunkenly swaggered forward, having overheard. "What a crock of shit! I heard this tale too, ya know" he slurred, "About some ghost story. There was supposedly this guy in this red and green sweater. He comes after you when you sleep. Just made up by a bunch of crazies up in Westin Hills. Get a reality check babe!"

"Just shut up Shane" Stacey hissed sharply. He gave a boisterous laugh and left the garden to party with the other guests.

Katherine grinded her teeth together and shook her head, "I'm telling you the truth. And I think…my dreams are real" she slowly reached down to her shirt, pulling it upwards to reveal her cuts on her waist.

There were a few shocked gasps, while Louise quickly inspected the wound. "How did you get this?"

"I didn't realise until this morning. I had a nightmare last night. There's this guy in my dreams. He's always after me. He wants to kill me. I tried to get away from him last night, but he caught me. I tried to fend him off, but he was too strong. He lashed out at me with his bladed claw"

"Claw?" Stacey gave her a bewildered look.

"It must be a glove he made. With four long knives on each finger" she mournfully shook her head, "I'm so…terrified. I just don't know what to do"

"Listen, I'll take you upstairs to the bathroom. So we can clean this wound okay?" Louise suggested, leading her gently into the house.

Chewing her lip nervously Stacey turned toward her boyfriend and friend, both of their faces holding a look of disbelief. "Don't tell me you believe her Stacey?" Chris remarked.

"I'm not sure Chris, but someone made those cuts on her!"

"Perhaps she got it while sleep walking or something. Just remember, we've only met her today. Don't be too trusting of her. That is all I'm saying" he gave her a stern glare.

"Okay. I understand" she sighed, "I'm going to see if she's okay"

Inside the large cream and black tiled bathroom, Katherine sat quietly on the edge of the bath as Louise knelt in front of her. Dabbing wet cotton wool onto her wound, cleansing it thoroughly. Slowly, the door to the bathroom eased opened as Stacey entered, raising her eyebrow in the direction of Louise. As if to say 'is everything ok'.

"It's not as bad as I thought" Louise muttered and then began to apply a small dressing from the medical kit at her side. "It should heal in the next few days"

Nodding quietly her friend wandered over toward Katherine and sat beside her, holding her gaze as she questioned. "Katie, when did you start having your dreams?"

"About a few days after I arrived in Springwood. I thought it was nothing at first. Just perhaps me trying to get settled into a new town. It started at the Elm Street house with these kids. All dressed in white, playing jump rope while singing this song" she frowned, pretending to concentrate, "I think it was something like. One, two Freddy's coming for you. Uh, I'm not sure of the rest. For a few nights I had the same dream. Hearing that song then someone would creep up behind me and slam their hand on my shoulder. But it wasn't just a hand, it was their bladed glove. Then other nights he would chase me in the boiler room. Every time I woke up I could still smell his burnt flesh!"

"He's burnt?"

"Yes. I…just want the nightmares to stop!"

Stacey gave a worried glance to her friend, both their hearts going out to the younger girl. "Listen, maybe you should see someone. Speak to a doctor. They're probably nothing. As for your wound, you were probably sleeping walking or something. Remember dreams aren't real. Just figments of your imagination"

Katherine gave a half hearted nod. Feeling a little bit annoyed that they weren't asking anymore questions, that they didn't believe her. But as her father mentioned to her, all was required of her was to tell them of her dreams. That she was dreaming of him and she had just accomplished this. Her job was done. For the time being.

Not long after getting her wound cleaned and dressed, Katherine found herself wandering throughout the kitchen and living room areas of the house. Mingling among the crowds of drunken revellers. Most of them too focused on their drinking games to notice her as she passed by. Approaching the large TV room, she instantly caught sight of Shane out for the count on the sofa. He seemed quiet content in his slumber to her disgruntlement. If only her father would enter his dream, frighten the shit out of the fucker.

Slowly she walked further into the room, her stony gaze never leaving Shane's sleeping face that began to twitch in surprise, in apprehension. Biting her lip, she held back her smirk as he gave a low moan, becoming disturbed in his slumber. Her father was invading his dream. The plan was working.

He jerked suddenly in his seat and soon his eyes snapped open, his eyes wildly shooting about searching for something. Or someone.

Turning away Katherine strode out of the room, a sly smile growing across her face as she stepped out into the backyard. Relieved that the night had went well. She would stay for a short while longer, then head home.

The sound of footsteps approaching made her turn towards the doorway as Shane advanced toward her, a leering smile on his face. "Hey, babe. I know a way of getting rid of your…nightmares" he winked at her.

Frowing slightly she stepped back hestiantly.

"Just come upstairs and I'll show you" he continued reaching down quickly, he groped her ass softly.

Slapping his hand away she backed away, her face shaking and tears beginning to form in her eyes. Memories of her father abusing her flashing in her mind.

"What the fuck are you doing asshole?" came a shout from Stacey, as she marched towards him shoving him away, "Leave her alone!"

He grinned, laughing to himself. "I'm only having a laugh. Anyway, she's not my type"

Linking her arm with Katherine's Stacey guided the traumatised girl away, shooting Shane a glare. "Go fuck yourself"

Helping the sobbing Katherine inside, Stacey grumbled to herself. "What a dick. I'm sorry for that Katie. Shane is such an asshole. Are you okay?"

"I'm g-going to go home, if you don't mind" she murmured and wiped at her tears.

"That's fine. Do you want me and Louise to walk you home?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks" she gave a small smile, "I'll see you later"

Turning on her heel, Katherine stormed out of the house her face contorting into a visage of anger. Of venom. She was one hundred percent sure that she wanted Shane to be the first one to die. Hopefully, her father would agree to her request and then that little fuck will get what's coming to him.

Waiting. Freddy absolutely fucking hated waiting. How long had it been since she had gone? Perhaps five or six hours? She had to be back soon, if not then she would have to be punished. Dragging a single blade across hot furnace he smiled as she felt her presence entering the dream. "I was wondering when you would turn up, princess"

Walking toward him, now in her dream attire Katherine looked up at him expectantly, "I did it daddy. I told them that I was having dreams of you"

He chuckled darkly, "Oh I know. I enter one of the little shit's dreams. Real cocky fucker"

"Yes daddy" she nodded smiling, "I saw him sleeping. He was there when I was telling the others about my dreams. He didn't believe it. His name is Shane. He…uh, he d-did something to me"

His eyes glowed angrily as he closed the gap between them, "What did he do?"

Starting to break, she stuttered and sobbed, "H-he…touched me. He g-groped me"

Growling with rage he roughly grabbed her chin with his burnt fingers, jerking her face up to his, "And you let him?"

Her eyes watered with fresh tears and she fiercely shook her head, "No, I swear. He just came up and groped me. I slapped his hand away. I hated it!"

"Don't let anyone do that to you again. Next time you hit the fucker hard" he loosened his grip on her face, a sly smile spreading across his face. "But for this little shit. I'll deal with him, tonight. And you my little princess are going to help"


	4. Fun and Games

**Chapter 4**: Fun and Games

Stars twinkled brightly in the dark, gloomy night sky. A light breeze and drizzle had fallen upon Shane's neighbourhood. It was now past 1am and the majority of the party revellers had left for home. The host lay drunkenly on his sofa, a crushed can of beer in his right hand as he snored loudly. Three of his close friends were sleeping awkwardly on the other chairs scattered throughout the living room.

The living room was a mess. With ornaments cracked and smashed on the dark maroon carpet, cans of beers and plastic cups scattered here and there. Drink stains were smeared on the carpet, with various remains of food and smudges of vomit rubbed into the floor. All the signs of a teenage party that had gone quite well.

Groaning quietly, Shane's eyes fluttered open and slowly he loosened his grip on his half empty beer can. Dropping it to the floor, he moaned and sat up. A splitting headache forming, right in the middle of his forehead. It throbbed painfully, making him wince and curse. "Fuckin' hell"

Giving the living room a quick glance he rolled his eyes at the state it was in, "Damn this shit!" he mumbled. He then staggered half drunkenly into the kitchen area. It was more or less in the bad shape as the living room, with broken bottles, crushed and mangled beer cans strewn across the floor and the kitchen table. It would wait until the morning, he just wanted another drink. A cold beer would be nice. Something to quench his thirst. At least he would have a few friends to help him clean the house, seeing as they _helped_ create it.

Walking over to the fridge, he pulled it opened and reached in for a Budweiser, cracking it open and then took a long cool refreshing drink. He burped crudely and advanced towards the doorway to the backyard. Sheepishly he exited his home, closing his eyes as he stifled a loud yawn and stretched his arms over his head.

As his eyes pried open, he gaped in perplexity. The view in front of him wasn't his own backyard, but the old decrepit shabby Elm Street house.

1428 Elm Street.

It loomed over him, like an ageing monster. The boarded up windows of the two bedrooms like eyes staring straight at him, beckoning him inside. Through the blood red door, to his demise.

Twisting around Shane glowered with frustration, seeing the street behind him. A light mist covering the road and pavement. He shoved his hands into his pockets, not believing that he was dreaming of this fucking house.

_Again_!

Damn that little _bitch_ for telling that bullshit of a urban legend. Now, he was having nightmares. What was she called? Katie or something? He would definitely give her a piece of his mind when he saw her again.

His attention was soon caught by a soft jingle of a bell. It came to his right, about twenty yards down the side-walk. Peering through the mist he saw the faint outline of a small girl riding towards him on a small tricycle. He grumbled incoherently to himself, studying the young girl as she stopped in front of him.

The tricycle was a deep red colour, with red and green streamers tied to each of the handle bars. The little girl had her brown hair tied back in two red ribbons, her dress was pink with white frills and adoring her feet were black painted shoes. She smiled up at him, a mischievous glimmer twinkling in her deep brown eyes. "Hello"

Shane frowned, looking at her small frame. She looked no more than five years old. He stared into her eyes, her gaze was stoic, penetrating. Disturbing. For some unnerving reason it made him on edge.

_Afraid_.

He shook his head lightly, why the fuck would he be afraid of a little girl? Forcing a smile he asked, "Hi, uh. What are you doing out...here?"

"I'm heading home" she said simply.

"Home?" Shane gulped, "Where do you live?"

She turned in her seat and pointed at the Elm Street house, "I live there, with my daddy!"

"You live there?" he gawked at her.

She giggled eerily, "Yes, silly! With my daddy, Freddy Krueger!"

His eyes flickered with worry at the sound of that name. Freddy Krueger. It was the burnt man that attacked him in his drunken slumber earlier during the party. Could he really have had a child of his own? What the fuck was he thinking about? This was only a dream, the guy was dead!

Katherine slowly looked up, reading his thoughts and swiftly a knowing smile crept across her face as she whispered, "It's much more _than_ that"

Jerking his head down towards her, he tried to decipher what she had just murmured just then. It so low, distorted that he could barely make it out.

Smiling innocently at him, Katherine cocked her head to the side. "Do you want to play?"

"Play?"

"Yeah. I know just the game!" she grinned playfully and then lightly tapped his arm, "Tag! You're it!"

She hopped off her tricycle, skipping with glee down the cracked path of her home towards the door. It creaked open slowly, as if welcoming her inside. Shane cried out, trying to warn her. "Wait!"

However, she quickly disappeared from view. The darkness of her home engulfed her small little frame. Shane frowned again, "Fuck!" and reluctantly followed her inside. Feeling a shiver of anticipation shoot up his spine. He knew that he had to lay of the dope for a little while. It was fucking up his mind.

He took a slow prudent step into the hallway of the murky, foreboding house inching further inside until the door slammed behind him, a small click sounding from the lock. A musky stale smell tainted the air, filling his nostrils as he inhaled slowly. The tattered curtains that hung limply over the boarded windows, fluttered gently in the breeze that blew through the smashed window. His eyes scanned the room searching for any sign of the little girl, it was difficult though. But still he continued to scrutinize every nook and cranny. Soon, he found her. Hiding behind an old wooden chair right in the far corner of the living room. She poked her head out from behind the back of the chair and then let out a soft playful laugh.

He started towards her, but swiftly she darted out of her hiding place running into the basement, shouting over her shoulder. "I bet you _can't_ catch me!"

Shane grumbled to himself, disliking where this dream was leading to. Chasing after some strange little girl through a dreary, old, run down house? Not his idea of a good dream.

He began to take a step forward but then froze, his weary gaze lifting upwards to the dusty, cracked ceiling. The floorboard above creaked and groaned, under the weight of a pair of footsteps. There was soon a dark, hoarse, gritty laugh. Full of malice and depravity.

Swallowing profusely Shane scampered towards the door to the basement and shoved the door open. A hot searing blast of heat and steam greeted him as he stepped onto a long dark, rusty catwalk. It groaned dangerously under his heavy strides as he inched along it, peering over the railing into the dark depths of the power plant below. The only sound was the metallic rumblings of the machines, the hissing of steam and this heart beating thunderously within his ribcage, the sound echoing in his ears.

But then two new sounds graced his ears, a girl's childish giggle and a man's gently voice. Playful, soft. Their voices fluttered upwards from the corridor below the catwalk. Making Shane lean further over the railing, seeing the faint outline of the little girl and a tall male. An all too familiar fedora adorning his head. It was Freddy.

Without a seconds hesitation Shane staggered forward, along the shaky catwalk towards a set of ladders leading downwards. Steadily he began to climb downwards, a sense of aversion settling in the pit of his stomach as what was to happen to that little girl. Even though this was just a dream, he felt a need to perhaps try and save her. Maybe he was trying to act all bravado, like the hard man he always believed he _was_.

As he stepped onto the hard concrete there was a deafening scream and the sound of bones crunching and breaking. It reverberated all throughout the power plant, the sound so terrifying and surreal that Shane clamped his hands over his ears. In a matter of seconds the screaming stopped and slowly Shane let his quivering hands fall to his sides.

Blood quickly rushed to his rigid legs and he started to run, swerving through the corridors searching for any sign of the girl. He panted and puffed as he turned into a large opening. There was an old wooden bench to his right with a doorway leading into a side room.

Shane slowly came to a a halt, his eyes widening at the obscene sight of the little girl's broken form, laying slumped against a red-hot furnace. The smooth flesh on her face was skinned away, like a piece of fruit. The pieces of cream flesh hung limply from the thick red muscle tissue beneath and from her bone. Blood gradually began to pool around her head that was set at an unearthly angle. As though her neck was twisted, _snapped_. Her legs and arms were mangled, broken with deep red lacerations covering her once pale clean skin. Her soulless dead eyes were wide open and stared straight at Shane. As though she was glowering at him, _taunting_ him for not saving her.

Her pink dress was now torn, ragged and the material was ripped from her skin. Showing four deep stab wounds just above her stomach. The blood flowed like a river, staining the dress and forming a pool of thick red liquid on the ground. It appeared flow towards him, inching closer and closer. He gasped and jerked backed as her small little frame jolted to life.

As she staggered to her feet, her right arm swung forward, her shoulder having being dislocated from her shoulder. Her left wrist was broken and lay limp at her side. Her skin flopped downwards from her marred and hideously scarred face, literally hanging from her skull.

Shane lurched forward onto his knees and spewed up the contents of his stomach. Every single detail of her mutilated body looked so fucking real, even the smell of death lingered in the air. Pushing himself back onto his feet, he idly wiped away the residue from his lips.

Katherine's mangled body took another shaky step forward, a dark nefarious giggle erupting from her bruised and bloodied throat, "Don't you want to play..." she started, her voice was sweet, yet gargled, a thick trail of blood spilling from her mouth, "_skin_ the cat, Shane?"

He shook his head and backed away, bumping into something or actually someone. Spinning around he came face to face with Freddy, who grinned maniacally.

Tilting his head to the side, Freddy asked, "Don't you want to play with my daughter?"

The young man shook his head.

"No?" Freddy growled and tutted, "Oh, but you did _grope_ her earlier, didn't you?"

"What?"

Glowering at him with venom, Freddy took a step forward and jabbed a blade at him sharply, "You touched my daughter!" he slowly waved a blade in front of the boy's face, "That wasn't very nice was it, you little shit?"

Still confused by Freddy's accusations Shane turned to look at the little girl, believing that it was her Freddy was referring to. However, instead of meeting her mangled corpse, he saw the exact same girl from the party from hours before. The new arrival in town or well so it seemed.

Her attire was the same from earlier, but her pale cold face was littered with scars. Her shirt was smeared in blood, right above her old stabs wounds on her stomach. Her eyes were a deathly black, her dark brown hair hung loosely around her face which was jaded and forlorn. Staring impassively at him, Katherine took a small step forward. Her breathing was slow and laboured, a cool eerie grin playing at her thin pink lips.

Shane gasped and scrambled backwards as Freddy scolded him once more, "You remember now, don't you?" he leered, then turned towards his daughter beckoning her forward. She obeyed and stood at his side, her gaze never leaving Shane's disturbed look. Freddy smiled devilishly and lightly traced a thin blade along her jaw, "Beautiful isn't she?"

He looked over to Shane and chuckled at dismayed look on his face. "You see Shane _no one_ is to touch her" he glanced at Katherine, locking eyes with her for one brief second. But for her it felt like an eternity. "Only me! So...you've been a very bad boy, haven't you? And what do we do with naughty little boys, princess?"

Katherine turned to face him, giving him his full attention and answered, "We punish them"

"Yes" Freddy cackled ominously, "We do!" he lunged forward bladed claw raised and prised for action. Shane tried to spin away, but he felt coarse hard fingers grabbing onto his hair and tugged him back with such vicious force he thought his own neck would snap.

He whimpered as he heard Freddy's low raspy whisper in his ear, "You shouldn't have touched what isn't yours, fucker!"

Shane opened his mouth to scream as he felt four blades tear into his skin...

Jumping up in his sofa, Shane looked wildly about the room, panting and breathing with adrenaline. With fear. He moaned and rose to his feet, feeling a little unsteady. A little dizzy and disorientated.

He rubbed his eyes, glancing out the window of his home. It was still dark. Giving a fleeting look at his watch he saw the time was 4.32am. He cursed softly, trying in vain to force that vision of his nightmare out of his mind. It had to be the amount of alcohol and dope he had consumed over the last day or so. Fuck that shit, he was laying off it for a while.

Stretching his stiff limbs above his head he ventured towards the back yard, hoping to get some cool air. Something to help clear his head. He hiccuped as he stepped onto the cream tiles surrounding the large swimming pool. The silver sheet glimmered in the moonlight as he stared at it blearily. Gently he ran his right hand through his hair, his fingertips brushing the top of the back of his neck and then he froze. Feeling a stick wet substance. Grimly he withdrew his hand and gaped at the blood that now stained the tips of his fingers. "What the fuck?"

Tugging at the buttons of his shirt, he shook off his garment and began to study the four long slash marks that were ripped down the back. The marking of Freddy's claw. What was happening to him?

There was a small snigger from behind him that soon developed into barbaric laugh, mocking and full of heinous delight. Shane swallowed and spun around, but he wasn't fast enough. An invisible entity plunged him backwards into the middle of the silver sheet covering the pool.

The strings tying the sheet to the edge of the pool began to unravel quickly and instantly Shane began to sink, the water flowing over the edge of the sheet. The sheeting enclosing around him, encasing him in the water.

Like a cocoon.

Shane's arms flapped wildly as he tried to escape, swim out of his precarious predicament. Opening his mouth he yelled for help, however his body sunk further into the water, the liquid pouring into his mouth. Spilling down his throat, filling up his lungs, eradicating precious air.

_Oxygen._

He coughed, spluttered and once more thrashed and tugged at the silver sheet. Trying to rip it apart. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and looked down at four scratches, the blood seeping from his wound. He shook his head and frantically endeavoured once more to tear at the fabric that trapped him.

Invisible blades slowly began to tear and slash at the sheet and at Shane's body, ripping through his clothing into his flesh, cutting deeply. Drawing blood. Again they struck, with more vigour and with lethal intent, at his arms, legs, waist, face and chest. Shane's vision blurred, his body becoming week as more of his vital blood poured from his ghastly wounds. Soon the once clear water was now a crimson red, all he could see when he opened his eyes was his blood.

His life-giving blood.

Beneath the tattered blood stained sheet, Shane could faintly hear an all too familiar laugh. Freddy Krueger's laugh. It was muffled, low and began to increase ever so slowly in volume. Until it was echoed from everywhere in the pool. Weakly, Shane turned his head towards the laughter, spasm-sing as Freddy's claw plunged one last time into this chest and the last thing he saw was Freddy's burnt grinning face before the world went dark.

Materialising on the edge of the pool, Freddy smirked with sick triumph at Shane's dead corpse as he floated, entangled in the silver sheet. His body a mass of deep stab wounds and bleeding scars. The water was a nice ruby red colour. Just the way he _liked_ it.

He chuckled and turned to Katherine as she stood a few feet behind him. Her pale frightened gaze was fixed upon Shane's body. Of course she wanted him punished and she knew that her father would indeed murder him, but still to witness his brutal death made her incredibly uneasy. Scared.

Fuck it, to be honest with herself, she was petrified.

Stepping closer to her, Freddy leaned down and tucked a stray of her dark hair behind her ear with one of his blades, "Get used to it sweetheart. You're going to witness every kill I make!"

She swallowed thickly and nodded, "Yes s-sir"

"Good" he kissed her lightly on her forehead, "Now, let's continue with our fun and games!"

**x x x**

The next morning, the news of Shane's death spread like wildfire throughout the neighbourhood. One of the party revellers had awoken to find their friend floating wrapped in the silver sheeting. They tried to revive him through CPR, however he had been dead for a few hours. Once the ambulance and police had arrived, they quickly put his death down to an unfortunate drunken accident. Unaware that another element to his death was the deep, fatal internal bleeding that had marred every part of his insides. Several of his major organs were ruptured, torn apart. The wounds caused by Freddy's claw, inflicted upon him in his nightmare. But the authorities weren't to know, unless a post mortem was carried out. Whether that was to happen was hard to say.

Standing in front of her television, Nancy sighed despondently as her eyes stared at the news headline of Shane's death. Grasping her cordless phone she listened as Kristen spoke quietly from the other line, "I know Kristen. But it says on the news that it was an accident. His friends found him floating in the pool. Supposedly, he had drunken a lot of alcohol. He probably fell into the pool. There is nothing to be worried about!"

Kristen grumbled softly and began to pace her large, spacious bedroom, "But Nancy, I still have this feeling that something is going to happen! We have to be careful!"

Nancy closed her eyes, trying to keep herself in check. "Kristen listen, did you go to sleep last night?"

"No"

"Then that is why you are acting like this. You're becoming paranoid and on edge. He isn't coming back. Shane's death was a sad unfortunate accident. Okay? Don't get yourself all worked up" she reassured, "I even phoned Kincaid and Joey earlier and they slept a good seven to eight hours without a dream or nightmare. There is nothing to be worried about Kris, please just let it go"

"Ugh, okay" Kristen sighed, "I'll see you later. Bye"

Hanging up, Nancy threw the phone onto the sofa, continuing to stare grimly at the TV footage of Shane's death. Despite persuading Kristen to remain calm, she had to admit she too felt a little weary of the boy's death. But she didn't want to tell Kristen that, it would only set the young woman into a spiral of hysteria. Perhaps a way of allaying her anxieties was to ask her father to investigate the death a little bit further. After all he was the Sheriff of the town. He could pull some strings and put some pressure on the coroner to perform an intensive autopsy.

Stepping over to her sofa, she lifted her phone and dialled her father's direct line at the Police Station. After several rings it was answered, not by her father but Lt Garcia.

"Hi, it's Nancy here. Is my dad there Garcia?" she asked sweetly.

"One minute Miss Thompson"

There were a few minutes silence and then soon her father came on the line, "Nancy, honey how are you?"

"I'm ok dad. How are you?" she replied, making small talk.

"Run off my feet here. What with that boy's death this morning" he mumbled.

"Oh" Nancy nodded, "Um, I know this isn't my place to ask, but uh, are they planning on doing an autopsy on him?"

He frowned and glanced into the foyer where Shane's parents numbly sat, having rushed home from their weekend away. He leaned against his table and lowered his voice, "Well, maybe I shouldn't say. But..."

"But what?"

"The coroner thinks that a full inquest into his death should be carried out, supposedly there was some blood found in the swimming pool. But there was no evidence of injuries on his body. It's fucking strange" he muttered. However, he refrained from telling her the other significant finding from the death scene. The state of Shane's shirt, the four long slash marks. It was hidden away in the evidence room of the station and only he had the key. He didn't want to alarm the young man's parents. For now, he would keep it to himself. He would tell Nancy. Not now, but hopefully soon.

Her face paled significantly and sluggishly she slumped down on the nearest chair, "You serious? There was blood?"

"Yes" he whispered briskly, "Listen, I have to go. I have to speak with Shane's parents. Don't say anything, okay?"

She muttered a brisk goodbye and slowly hung up, feeling a sharp tingle shooting through her body as her mind processed this piece of information. There was blood in the pool, but no signs of wounds on the boy's body. It would indicate internal bleeding, but internal bleeding would only be caused by a crash of some sorts.

The only other way it would conceivably happen was from the horrific experiences she had faced a few years back in Westin Hills, when her patients were being tormented and hunted by him, Freddy Krueger.

In their _dreams_.

* * *

**Author's Note:** My apologies for the long update on this. I hope that this chapter makes up for the long wait. It was actually going to be another 3-5 pages longer with a few more scenes I had planned, but they will be added to the next chapter. Any questions, comments, suggestions then feel free to ask via a nice little review. haha. And oh, also I am starting to run out of ideas for the characters deaths. So, if you have any own personal fears or ways of killing anyone, then please feel free to tell me and I'll give you full credit for it! Thank you in advance.

Paula


	5. In Danger

**Chapter 5:** In Danger.

It was morning, perhaps a little after 10am, a bitter wind was blowing through the streets of Springwood. Making Stacey and Louise pull their fleeces closer to their bodies as the wandered down the towards the entrance to the Springwood Mall. Despite it being Sunday, crowds of teenagers would regularly congregate near the entrance of the mall, as there were plenty of benches and a small skating arena at the side of the complex. A place where they could keep themselves occupied.

Stacey and Louise felt numb, downtrodden and slightly afraid of Shane's unexpected death. The news of his untimely demise had spread through the neighbourhood rather quickly. It was main headline on the morning news. As usual, the media had started to circulate rumours of how his death occurred, stating that drugs were involved, there was foul play, an unfortunate accident of that it was a stupid stunt that had gone fatally wrong. Whatever happened to him, it was a shock. They weren't great fans of his, personality wise. He could act like such as prick. But still no one deserved to die in such a way as he did.

Walking across the road at a pedestrian crossing they waved at some of their classmates that had also attended the party from the previous night. There were three of them in total, Jennifer, Ashleigh and Gareth. They each looked exhausted and a little bit hungover. The hard partying from last night had caught up on them, among others things. Stacey gave a solemn smile and stopped in front of them, "Hi, hows you?"

"We're okay" Ashleigh shrugged, "Well, considering what happened last night"

"Yeah, it's fucking awful" she replied curtly, "How long did you guys stay for?"

Jennifer flicked a strand of her dark hair away from her face, cracking her chewing gum loudly. "Well, me and Ashleigh stayed to about half 12. I would have preferred to stayed a bit longer. You know that Jake was there. Isn't he hot or what?"

Ashleigh scoffed quietly in disbelief. How could Jennifer talk about guy at a time like this? Jesus, of one their friends had just died and here she was having a talk about her fucking crush. All she ever did was talk, ramble on. Namelessly talk about the greatest load of bullshit ever. It wasn't the time nor place for it.

Nodding and feigning a smile Stacey then turned towards Gareth who stood awkwardly beside the bench, shoving his hands into his jeans. "What about you Gareth? Did you stay long?"

"I, uh, actually was there. Me and Jake found him floating in the water" he swallowed profusely. Thinking back to the hysteria that followed when they staggered outside to find their friend's lifeless body. It was like a bad dream. Just like the nightmare he had when he got home after being questioned at the police station. He staring into the pool, looking straight into Shane's cold eyes as from beneath the murky water. Then it happened, very slowly bloody marks, deep lacerations began to appear on his body. There was so much blood. But it was that man, that horrid scarred man with that metal claw that really made his blood freeze, his heart beat that little bit faster. With dread. He was chased by him, through this old abandoned power plant. Just like the one on the outskirts of town. Just when he thought he was a goner, he woke up drenched in a cold sweat.

But it was just a dream. A side-effect to the terror of finding Shane dead. That girl at the party had mentioned something about a burnt man, it was more than likely because of her words that he dreamed of that fucker. It was just a stupid coincidence. That's all. He shook himself and looked back at Stacey as she was engrossed talking to Louise, "Here. I'm going to head on. Listen, I know what I saw at the pool. It had to be an accident. Before I passed out, I saw Shane smoking some more weed. We all know how much he liked to get stoned. We heard no disturbance or anything. He must have got up, starting drinking, perhaps rolled a few more joints and fell into the pool"

Stacey reached out and rubbed his shoulder tenderly, "Okay. Listen, it's been a bad night for all of us. We just need time to get over this. I know some of you were closer to him than me and Louise. We just need to there for each other over the next few days"

Gareth smiled back and muttered his goodbyes, before departing across the road towards a small cafe where his other friends waited for him. Ashleigh watched him as he left and sighed, turning to Stacey and Louise. "Listen, we are thinking of going to Shane's wake on Monday. I think that's when his body is to be brought back to his home. Would you like to come? I know you two had your...arguments with him. But I think it would be nice if everyone who knew him could be there. Pay their respects"

Stacey exchanged looks with Louise, both of them silently agreeing that it would be a good idea. Would show their compassion for his departed soul. "Yeah, we'll come. Let us know the time and we'll meet you there" Louise nodded.

Agreeing with this plan, Ashleigh and Jennifer said their farewells and went on their way.

With the other two girls doing likewise, heading back down the road they came. Their pace was slow, hardly a word being spoken between them as the meandered through the streets, onto Elm Street.

As they passed by the old run down house that was 1428 Elm, Louise involuntary shuddered, averting her gaze away from it. She didn't want to be reminded of her nightmare. Not now.

Noticing her friend's uneasiness Stacey stopped her in her tracks and asked, "Are you okay?"

Louise jumped slightly at the sound of her friend's voice, smiling nervously. "Um, yeah. Well, I just had a nightmare last night" she nodded with her head towards the Elm Street house, "about...that house"

"You serious?" Stacey rose an eyebrow. She too had a dream of the house, but she wasn't going to tell her friend that. Now, was she? "Why?"

"I don't know. I think Katie's story last night really got me spooked. It probably made me have a dream of that house and of that guy..."

Stacey swallowed hard, "What guy?"

"I think Katie called her Freddy. I woke up at the start of Elm Street, just down there" she pointed at the end of the street, beside a large Elm tree. "Then a little girl, aged about five or six lured me to the house. I just kept following her until I was in this huge boiler room and that's when he appeared. He was exactly liked Katie described him. Brown fedora hat, red and green dirty sweater with black trousers and boots. I could barely see his face, but I could smell his burnt flesh. Ugh, it was revolting. But the thing that scared me the most was what was on his hand. A bladed glove. The knives were probably five or six inches long"

Her friend clasped her hands shut tightly, her legs trembling with fear. It was the same guy she saw in her nightmare. "So, what happened?"

"He chased me, dragging his blades along this hot furnace, making that god awful screeching sound. I tried to find a way out, but he got me cornered. And just before he struck out at me I woke up" she cleared her throat anxiously, "But I wasn't awake. I went to the bathroom, where I would usually go when I have a bad dream. You know splash water over my face, try and calm myself down. But when I looked in the mirror, my face began to melt. Peeling away, I could see my muscle beneath my flesh and then parts of my skull. Fuck, I just screamed and screamed. My mom found being sick in the bathroom after I woke up. I was sleep walking. I just couldn't get back to sleep. Well, I didn't want to" She then giggled to herself as she continued, "Just say I wasn't in the mood for breakfast this morning"

Stacey grinned weakly and rubbed her friend's back soothingly. "Just forgot about it. It was just a stupid nightmare. What Katie said last night was playing on your mind. Don't take it too seriously"

"Yeah" she bobbed her head, concurring. "Do you think that Katie lives around here?"

"I'm not sure. It could either be this street or the next Elm Street over. It's such a big neighbourhood" Stacey pondered, "We can always ask her the next time we see her. What do you think really caused her wounds?"

"I'm not sure...maybe she is a sleep walker like myself. She could have accidentally hurt herself when she was have a sleep walking dream and believed it happened in her dream. What you think?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Stacey began to march down the side walk, with Louise breaking into a stride beside her. "I'm not so sure"

"You think it's something else then?"

"Yeah, but you're more than likely right" she grumbled. However, Stacey felt that there was something more to the new young girl than met the eye. It was probably wrong of her to think of this, but she wondered whether Katie was being subjected to abuse. She mentally berated herself, scolding her thoughts. As always she was always hastily jumping to conclusions without getting evidence to back it up. She only met the girl yesterday, the events over the last twenty four hours were playing havoc with her imagination. She quickly linked her arm with Louise's and said, "We'll hopefully bump into her again soon"

Briskly the two young women disappeared out of view, crossing the road. From inside the old shabby Elm Street house, a lone pale face appeared from the darkness of the living room. Thankfully the wooden planks had hidden most of the shattered window, but there were still gaps from which Katherine could spy out on anyone that walked by. Her ears had perked up when she heard Stacey and Louise stopping outside the house.

When Louise had described her dream, Katherine couldn't help but smirk. As she was the little girl who had lured her to the boiler room, to her father. As for Stacey, she wasn't involved in her nightmare, but was in one of the other party guests. A young dark haired girl, aged about seventeen, who just wouldn't stop babbling and talking. It was really irritating. The constant cries, whimpers, begging and pleading. A part of her wanted him to kill her there and then.

After that girl's dream her father pushed her out of the dream, saying he wanted to make one last little visit to one of the other party revellers. All in all, he had visited seven potential victims with two of them being Stacey and Louise. All of them unknowing cattle just waiting to be butchered.

From perhaps 6am until 10am Katherine had listlessly waited in the living room, sitting Indian style in the middle of the decrepit room. It was bout 7am or so when she heard the sirens, blaring in the distance. She knew that it was the ambulance and police rushing to Shane's house several estates away from Elm Street. No doubt his friends would have tried to revive him, but he was long dead. And his death wasn't just limited to being drown. Of course, that is what they would assume it was. But if they were to open his chest they would see his internal organs torn and ripped. It would be a very messy sight. Not for the faint hearted.

Katherine slowly backed away from the boarded window and turned around to face the mirror, feeling her father's dark presence. Staring obediently at the mirror she saw his faint outline behind her own reflection, his cold vicious eyes demanding her complete attention. "Time to go outside sweetheart. Remember, make sure you tell them little fucks more about me!"

Quickly she nodded her head and replied, "Yes daddy" then hurriedly she left the run down house by the small narrow gap in the back door, being careful not to get her clothing torn by the large nails protruding out of the large plank of woods. It seemed that whoever had tried to seal up her old home had done so in a rush and half heartedly.

One thing that constantly was on her mind was how lenient her father was with her over the last night or so. It was probably due to how well things were going, he was entering quite a few of the teenagers dreams. Conjuring up fear once more, gathering more strength. He was in a good mood. But for how long that was the question. He could snap at any minute and he had shown to her that at any time he would dish out her '_medicine_' whenever he felt like it.

Shivering at the thought she ventured onwards and within five minutes she found herself at the entrance to the park. The lush green grass was slowly beginning to be scattered with yellow and brown leaves, a light wind blew through the trees lined at the far end of the park. At the playground a few young kids had gathered to play on the swings, slides and monkey bars. The old sand pit had now been dismantled and in it's place were a few benches and tables for families to congregate on the summer days.

Following the small gravel path Katherine continued walking until she came to her destination, one of her favourite places to go to. The water fountain. Running her hands through the crystal water, she gingerly sat down on the grey stone and soon became engrossed in watching the world go by. Some women strolled past pushing prams, each pram holding a small little baby. Newborn, innocent. Unaware of the horrors of the world they were born into.

Pulling her stony gaze away from the women she looked over to the small bench across from the fountain, near the road. The exact same bench where her father would watch her when she was a child. Analysing her, making sure that she didn't stray too far from the fountain and if she did disobey she would get a whipping of his belt when she was brought home. It was only one time she had foolishly decided to walk towards the far end of the park and after that vicious beating he gave her, she never dared do such a stupid act ever again.

She sighed despondently and twisted around towards the water once more, running her finger tips through the cool crisp liquid again. Watching blankly as the ripples spread outwards further into the fountain and then she froze. Her hands grasped the edge of the fountain as her dark brownish orbs stared at a man who had came to a stop on the other side, part of his body was hidden from view by main fountain that steadily sprouted out water. He stretched out his arms and legs, then splashed a handful of water over his sweaty brow. It was Matthew.

Half turning away Katherine untied her hair and let it fall around her face, shielding it from him. Eyeing him with caution she rightly assumed he was out jogging, keeping fit. She had to admit he hadn't changed one bit, with his broad shoulders, dazzling green eyes and dark black hair. But one thing she remembered about him was his smile, so sweet and kind. She continued to gaze at him as he rested, then suddenly got a vivid flashback from Westin Hills. Just shortly before she died. When Matthew's body was used against his will, used to violate her.

Whimpering at the image of his face above hers, she ran from the fountain as tears began to stream down her pale face. She skidded around a large Oak tree about twenty yards away and slumped to the ground, resting her head against it's large stump. "Okay, calm down" she mumbled to herself, taking deep breaths to regulate her breathing. Trying to regain her composure. "It's okay. Just relax"

Breathlessly she leaned her head against the bark and closed her eyes and within seconds she could hear deep hoarse breathing from above her. Her eyes snapped open and she craned her neck upwards to see her father towering in front of her.

He narrowed his eyes darkly and abruptly reached down, his coarse fingers of his left hand digging into her scalp and with a mighty tug dragged her to her feet by her dark brown hair. She cringed in pain, eyes beginning to well with tears at what he might do. "Are we sleeping on the job, hmm?" he rasped.

She shook violently, "I'm sorry daddy. I just sat down and closed my eyes. I never meant to fall asleep"

He leered at her and glimpsed briefly about the now decimated park, the swings and slides of the playground were melted and mangled, the grass and trees withered and dead. Dead corpses of small little children, dressed in their Sunday best were strewn across the park, a few of them hung by thick rope from the monkey bars, their necks savagely broken in two. It was exactly how Freddy preferred the park to be, his own twisted version of it. Tearing his eyes back to his daughter's quaking frame he took a step closer, placing his bladed glove against the side of her face and doing likewise with his charred hand, "Have you met up with your new..._friends_?"

Her head slowly shook in discord, "No, sir. Not y-yet"

Freddy tutted, "Well, sweetheart" he tightly wrapped his blistered hand around her throat and squeezed, hard. "You better wake up and _show _them your new wound!"

Katherine gagged, clawing weakly at his hand and in a blinding white flash she woke up, coughing and gasping for air. Shakily she rose to her feet and staggered away from the tree, heading towards the side of the road and passed by a few parked cars. Slowing down she cautiously looked about, seeing that no one was near and then crouched down toward the side mirror of a small parked grey car, examining her neck. She gingerly touched the red hand marks around her throat, that mysteriously began to transform into a blueish black colour. Her skin was now bruised. No wonder her father had grabbed her throat in such a rough, violent manner. It was another piece of evidence that would show to them that she was being haunted and physically tortured in her dreams. "Good idea daddy"

In the Craven Inn, Stacey and Louise sat in a small booth by the window. Finishing off their strawberry milkshakes. A usual Sunday ritual they had. After Sunday lunch at 1pm they would convene at the Diner and chat in idle gossip over a milkshake. Pushing her long tall glass away, Louise leaned back in her seat. "So, have you seen Chris from last night?"

"No" her friend shook her head, "I tried to phone him earlier this morning, but there as no answer. Either he's sleeping off his hangover or he's out"

"Right" Louise nodded and then turned her gaze out the window. Lurching forward towards the glass pane, she raped it briskly at the figure walking past. Katie.

Katherine backtracked and was soon at their table, smiling albeit a little anxiously. "Hi"

"Hey, I take it you know what happened last night? To Shane?" Louise turned towards her and patted the space beside her.

Sliding into the booth, Katherine nodded sadly and discretely tucked a strand of her hair behind her right ear. It was time to play along. "Yeah, I heard on the news"

Louise threw a worried look towards Stacey, both of them catching a glance at Katie's bruised neck. It was quite harrowing to see another injury on her, especially so soon after seeing her gash on her waist. It was time to start asking questions. "Katie..." Stacey gripped the edge of the table and leaned forward, her voice low and stern. "Where did you get that bruise on your neck?"

Katie smiled inwardly, a conceited one. "I...got it last night in my nightmare"

The girl across from her frowned and shook her head, "I don't believe that. I think you're hiding something. Katie...are you being abused? Is your father hitting you?"

Louise's jaw dropped open at this suggestion and slowly tore her gaze away from her friend to Katie's ashen face. The young teenager fiercely shook her head and replied. "No, I'm not. It was him. I've told you. It was Freddy! He's trying to kill me in my nightmares!"

Disagreeing slowly, Stacey reached over and grasped Katie's hands that were ice cold. "Listen, it's okay. You can tell us" her eyes bore into hers, silently pleading with her to tell the truth. "You can trust us"

Growling quietly, Katherine became increasingly frustrated at their lack of belief in her story. Just what could she do to get them to believe her? Fuck this. "No, I keep telling you. I'm being stalked by him, he's going to kill me. Damn it!"

Again Stacey and Louise began to try and reason with her, but she brushed them off and stormed out of the diner, running down the side walk. Fuck them. If they didn't believe her, then she would make them believe her father. Inside twenty minutes Katherine had finally made it back to her old home and had settled onto her dusty mattress of her bed, laying her head on the saggy pillow and within a few minutes she had drifted to sleep.

Sitting up on her bed, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood as her father came into view. He glowered at her, surprised at how disheartened the look on her face was. He flicked his bladed claw and she slowly transformed into her dead adult from and advanced towards her. "Why do you look...so frustrated?"

Her dark eyes flickered up to his horrid face, then back down to the ground. She felt a little ashamed. "They...d-don't believe me, daddy" she sniffled softly, "I'm sorry. I'm trying sir! I am!"

Freddy grinned slyly and jerked her face up to meet his, "Then we'll show them that I'm real, won't we?"

She whimpered as he increased the pressure of his fingertips on her chin and leaned in close, his singed lips pressed against her right ear and sneered venomously. "We'll have a little..._demonstration_ and you are going to be my little punching bag!"

**x x x **

She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Hell, it was only 4pm in the afternoon, she had plans for this evening. Well, not really plans, it was more like stupid fucking homework to complete. Geography. Boring or what? It was only her intention to rest her eyes for a few minutes. But it seemed that Louise's body had other ideas. When she had reopened her eyes, she found herself laying face down on a hard, rusty metal catwalk. It groaned dangerously beneath her weight as she clambered to her feet and her hands clamped onto the railing, a muffled curse coming from her. She was beginning to hate this place and she was starting to _hate_ dreaming.

Peering over the catwalk she detected a young girl running through the steam, glancing over their shoulder anxiously at the predator stalking them. There was a piercing scream from the teenager as their pursuer scraped something sharp along the steel walls. Metal upon metal. Louise clasped her left hand over her gaping mouth. It was that guy, Freddy. But who the fuck was he chasing. Well, there was only one way to find out.

She cast a quick glance to the right then the left, discerning a small steep staircase. Each steep was smeared in a thick red substance, that made her face scrunch up in disgust. Pity she hadn't left her socks on her feet, stupid girl. Sighing aggravatingly she moved forward and leisurely began to step down the staircase, cringing in revulsion at the substance beneath her feet. It slid between her toes, slopping nosily under her flesh as she hurried downwards.

She flicked her feet violently, trying to discard the red sticky matter from the soles of her feet. Finally, after a minute she began to progress down the darkened corridor from where the young girl had been chased by Freddy. Crossing her fingers she picked up her pace and sprang into a jog, turning left into an intersecting passageway. Steam filled her vision as she twisted and turned into varying corridors, feeling as though she was being watched. Louise shook her head and gasped as she heard a piercing anguish scream coming from directly ahead.

As she approached a large opening, she skidded to a halt her eyes going wide as saucers at the horrific scene before her. Katie was backing into the corner of the room, her legs trembling violently beneath her small frame. Her eyes red and puffy from crying, tears trickled down her face and mixed with the blood smeared across her left cheek. A large nasty cut was seen, bleeding profusely.

Freddy steadily approached her his blades flexing threateningly at his side, one or two of the tips dripping with crimson liquid, Katie's blood. The terrified teenager glanced over towards Louise, her tear brimmed eyes pleading, beckoning for her to rescue her from this harrowing predicament she was in. She whimpered as Freddy crept closer, a sly knowing grin etched on his face and with a swipe of his right arm his blades slashed effortlessly along her chest, drawing four lines of blood. But the wounds were not as deep as Louise believed they were. He laughed with disdain and then clenched his left hand into a fist, punching her squarely in the jaw, not once but twice. Her bones cracking from the impact.

Jolting out of her trance Louise looked down to her right, finding a long thin metal pole laying on the ground and stooped down to pick it up. "Leave her alone you bastard!"

Freddy sneered, pretending to not have noticed her presence and swung around to face her. He cried out, as the end of his pipe connected to his jaw. The shot so swift and hard he staggered back, blood spilling from the corner of jaw. "Fucking bitch!"

Just as he was about to retaliate Louise brought down the pipe once more to the back of his head and surprisingly it knocked him immobile. Hopefully, it would be long enough to get Katie safe from harm.

Spinning around Louise scurried over to Katie and gently eased her to her feet, "C'mon. We've got to get out of here"

The battered girl winced and groaned in pain. Louise tenderly touched her cut face, gulping with realisation at how wrong she had been. Her wound felt so real. "Shit...you were right"

Katie gave a 'told you so' glare at her and coughed, spitting up blood. "We need to wake up" her gaze flicked up toward the roaring furnace.

Louise swallowed thickly as Freddy began to come to, groaning softly just a few feet from them. "Come on" she pulled Katie's right arm over her shoulder and dragged her forward.

"Hold onto me and then burn yourself to wake us up" Katie muttered weakly.

"What?"

Katie's free arm feebly clutched Louise's hand left hand, "It's the only way" and with all the energy she could muster, she slammed the girl's palm into the flames. Emitting a loud scream from her and they vanished from the dream world.

Jolting up straight, Louise hissed in searing pain and nervously looked down at her left palm. It was red, blistered and raw. There was no doubting Katie now, the girl was right. Dreams were real. Her and her friend's lives were in danger.


	6. Never Get It Easy

**Author's Note:** I am sure that some of you may have believed that I have abandoned this story. But fear not I haven't. Apologies for the long, long update. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and there is a slight warning - mention of molestation. Well, a slight hint to it.

**Chapter 6**: Never Get It Easy

Katherine jerked awake as she lay sprawled on her old dusty bed, she coughed and spluttered as she stood to her feet. Her dark brown eyes slowly gazed at herself in cracked tall mirror to the right side of her bed. Frowning she took a few steps closer, noticing her new busted lip and the left side of her face was a small gash about two inches long. Tenderly she touched it with her fingertips and sighed lowly, then let her hand fall to her side. Her eyes slowly looked down at her chest, seeing blood beginning to seep through her dress around her chest area. This wasn't good, she had to find something else to change into.

Behind her reflection she saw a movement and spun around, a shriek ripping from her throat as her father sprang forward from the corner of the room. He chuckled at her alarm and smiled devilishly. "You didn't know you were still asleep, huh princess?"

Her head shook back and forth, "No daddy"

He glanced momentarily at her injuries, "Hmm, so are we admiring our wounds?"

"Yes sir"

"Well, you'll have time to do that when you wake up. We've got some more work to do. Another piggy to visit it" he stated with wicked intent. "But first you need to change" he waved his bladed claw across her body.

Quickly, she transformed back into the state she was when she died. Her clothes torn and tattered, showing the marred flesh beneath her. Blood stained her clothes and was smeared over her skin. Her age however, remained the same, about fifteen or so.

"Much better" he heard her father chuckle.

Clearing her throat with apprehension she looked up at him and asked, "What t-time is it sir?"

"Near mid-night. Plenty of time for more fun" he gave her a playful wink. "Now, as with Shane you bring the girl to me. Understand?"

Obediently she nodded, "Yes daddy"

He pointed at the bedroom door as it creaked open, beckoning her out of the room, "Go on. Get moving"

She averted her eyes from his dark gaze and quickly shooed out of the room. She knew that this was going to be a very long night.

Jennifer felt a light cool breeze flutter over her hair, her eyes flickered open and she groaned as she sat up. Looking about with confusion she found herself sat in one of the booths at the Craven Inn Diner. The lightening was very poor, the tables and the counter were dusty and grimy with food stains. Pushing her dark hair away from her face she gave her head a quick shake and rose to her feet. The leather seats of the booths and the stools were shredded to pieces. Glass was shattered everywhere from the smashed windows, while on each table were plates of uneaten food. However, they were covered in a variety of insects such as maggots, beetles, worms and centipedes.

The young woman gagged at the sight, muttering uncontrollably. "Oh, god, oh god. I'm going to be sick. Ugh!" she swallowed the bile that was beginning to form in her throat, then rushed out of the diner.

Once outside she collided into someone, both of them screaming in unison. Catching her breath Jennifer lifted her alarmed face towards the other person who was getting to their feet. "My god, you frightened me..." her words trailed off as she noticed the girl. What was her name? Katie? She was the new girl at the Shane's party? "You're that new girl in town. Katie? Right?"

Katie/Katherine gave a shy nod and stepped forward into the light. Jennifer gasped in shock and revulsion at her marred body. "Holy shit. What happened to you? You look like you've been to hell and back"

Katie/Katherine nodded slowly. The girl didn't know the half of it. "Freddy attacked me. He's after me. Please you've got to listen to me, we've got to get out of here"

"Here?" she looked around the quiet street, "Are we dreaming? Am I in your dream?"

"Yes. But this isn't any normal dream. It's real. Freddy is real" Katie grabbed Jennifer's right arm tightly and began to tug her towards the far end of the street.

One by one the street lights began to flicker on and off, then exploded with bright yellow sparks flying outwards. A malevolent chortle echoed from behind them in the now darkened street, "Hello, little pigges" Freddy growled gruffly, "Here comes the big bad wolf!"

Katherine felt her body go tense at this statement. She vaguely remembered having a conversation of him when she was a young girl, perhaps four or so around Halloween time. Her lips parted in recognition as she thought back, he had taken their little talk and twisted it around to call his victims 'piggies'. She had unwittingly helped him create a name for the children. Shaking her head lightly she tightened her grip on Jennifer's arm and they began to ran, "Come on" she knew what she had to do. Get the girl's adrenaline flowing, get her fear pumping through her veins.

"Who was that guy?" Jennifer asked, "I've heard this voice before in my dream last night"

Katie glanced over her shoulder as they crossed the barren road, "He's Freddy Krueger. He's a child killer"

"Oh yes, I remember you mentioning this at the party. But this is only a dream right? I mean, you couldn't have really had got them injuries from him?"

"That's where you are wrong. I thought it was just a dream too, but it isn't. I've been asleep all afternoon. I cant' wake up. I know he's going to kill me!" Katie/Katherine sobbed.

"But surely someone will wake us up?" Jennifer asked hopefully.

She shrugged, wanting to say that she the girl wasn't going to wake up any time soon. Hell, that she wasn't going to wake up ever again. She heard the girl gave a small gasp as they came upon a house. Her old home.

"I've seen this house in my dream from last night!" the girl squealed, "There was these children singing this song..."

"I know what song you mean" Katie murmured, "Come on inside, quick. I know somewhere where we can hide!"

Jennifer took an uneasy step back as Katie let go of her hand and ran into the old decrepit house, disappearing into the darkness. Frowning with despair, Jennifer crossed her arms across her chest. "Shit, shit. Why is this happening to me? Damn it!"

Then she heard it, a piercing scream followed by deep hoarse laughter. It sent shivers shooting up her spine.

She stood rooted to the spot, pondering on whether to enter the house or not. If she did, could she find Katie in time and if so, would she be alive?

"_Help me..."_

Jennifer swallowed thickly and then scurried into the house. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted in the darkened hallway. Looking for any sign of Katie. There was a choking sound from the living room, followed by a mischievous chuckle. Suddenly the door slammed shut behind her sealing her into the house and unbeknown to her, her impending doom.

She prudently walked into the living room just at the time the fireplace burst into flames, shedding light on Freddy and Katie. He stood over her limp form, his left charred hand clasp tightly around her neck which had turned a light blue colour. Her two arms swayed at her side. His eyes darted briefly towards Jennifer and slowly he leaned down to whisper in Katie/Katherine's right ear, his fedora shielding their faces. "Play dead for me, princess"

With a maniacal laugh he dropped her dead body to the floor and spun around to face Jennifer, spraying his blades wide, "You're next piglet!"

She held her hands up, "Wait, wait! Can we not you know, talk about this?"

He sneered at her and began to advance.

"Oh god, oh god!" she shrieked and steadily backed away, "Someone wake up me. Come on, anyone" her terrified eyes darted to and fro, trying to figure an escape route out of her predicament. But no, she was fucked. "This is just a dream. Yes, a stupid sill dream" her voice began to become strained with worry as she continued to ramble on and on. Much to Freddy's annoyance.

"Don't you ever fuck up, bitch?" he snapped.

She gave a low nervous laugh and soon found her back pressed against the wall behind her, "C'mon Jennifer wake up!"

Freddy snarled and raised his blades, bringing them down to her face. Instinctively she lifted her arms across her face, a pitiful attempt to protect herself. She hissed and screamed in pain as his blades cut through the skin on her arms. He licked his lips and watched as she collapsed to the floor in agony, crying and whimpering on like a broken record. He rolled his eyes in disbelief and crouched down at her side, using his blades to carve into her arms and slice away thin layers of her muscle tissue. It was definitely a messy job, but there was a reason behind it.

Within a matter of seconds he had shredded away enough small strings of her muscle tissue and used the tip of his index blade to stitch her quivering lips together. He grinned treacherously as he done this and soon her mouth was stitched up.

Silence was golden. However, to his aggravation she began to scream despite her mouth being sealed shut. The sound was muffled, but it still was pissing him off.

"Fuck" he cursed and in a fit of rage, he drove his bladed through her mouth. One of his blades jabbed into her tongue, while another protruded out the right side of her cheek severing her flesh. Her eyes went wide with horror as he gouged out her tongue from her throat, sliding it through her marred face. She gurgled as a fountain of blood spewed from her throat, her hands clawed at her throat as her blood cascading down her neck staining it red. She gagged as more of her blood poured down her throat and into her lungs. Her vision went blurry as she rolled onto her back. In a matter of minutes her life had faltered away, her lungs now full with her blood.

Staring down at his victim's body Freddy gave her corpse a rough kick and then turned towards his daughter as she came to, standing up uneasily and rubbed her neck. He smirked, knowing that he hadn't been paying her much attention lately. Well, not enough _'special'_ attention that was. Now was the time to rectify that.

He stalked over to her and tipped her quavering face up to meet his, "You know, I've been neglecting you"

Katherine looked at him anxiously, not liking the perverted gleam in his eyes."What d-do you mean, sir?"

He closed the gap and tenderly trailed his scarred hand down the back of her head, towards the small of her back and pulled her body closer to his,while with his bladed claw he turned her face to the side. His vile tongue slide across her jawline as he breathed, "We need to have some play time"

She whimpered in discord, "No, daddy..."

Stepping back quickly, he bestowed her face with a sharp hard slap. "Now, don't fucking start. Or do you want me to be rough? Huh?" he glared at her angrily, then clutched the back of her head with his claw and pushed her forward towards the basement. "Now, move"

**x x x**

Nearly half an hour had passed since he had taken her down to his 'secret room'. Katherine cried silently as she lay sprawled out on the cold concrete floor, her body shivered violently as her father crouched above her, having tidied himself away. He looked over her body slowly, her hair was a mess, scraggy and damp with sweat. Her dress was nearly torn off of her body, her nimble hands clutched whatever fabric that was left close to her body.

Freddy laughed softly to himself and clutched her hair, dragging her to her shaky feet. "You really thought that I would spend all my time on the other children? That I would let you feel_ left_ out? That we wouldn't have our...special time together? Hmm?"

She sniffled back her tears and nodded, "Yes..."

He wrapped his left arm around her waist, hugging her close to him. "Wrong honey. That was a wake up call. You'll never get it easy. No matter what you do or how hard you try to make me happy. I have to make sure that you don't get too comfortable, that I can easily play with you any time I want. Right?"

"Yes sir"

He smiled and kissed her on the lips, letting the kiss linger for a few seconds before breaking away. "That's my girl. I'll see you later, baby"

She closed her eyes sensing a tingle shoot through her body and soon her eyes shot opened, finding herself lying not in her bedroom, but in her father's secret room. It was bare, with the shelves that contained her father's gloves and other instruments of death having been taken away. The newspaper clippings were gone as well, along with the large navy book her father had kept of his killings. The bench was still there, a thick layer of dust covering the top of it. She noticed something crumpled underneath and scuttled forward to retrieve it. She winced at the pain that emanated from her lower regions and gritted her teeth as she bent down to clutch the crumpled item. She slowly unfolded it, seeing that it was an old black and white photograph of her, her mother and father. Her age must have been 3 or 4 years old. A silent tear trickled down her face as she tucked it in her cardigan pocket, then slowly limped out of the room.

She had made it to the bathroom and stared grimly at her tear stained face as she thought about Jennifer. Was her body found yet? Was her home near here? Would she be able to hear the sirens as they rushed to her home? Well, whoever was going to find her was going to be in a for a nasty shock.

As for herself, well she needed to treat her new wounds and find something else to wear. Her father was getting far too busy with his claw on her clothing. But she couldn't really stop him, could she? No fucking way. She sighed and began to discard her clothing, to were she was just in her bra and pants. She made sure to take out the photograph of the pocket. Her hands grasped the cold water tap and turned it on. It spluttered out brownish liquid, then after a few seconds it cleared away. Using her ripped dressed she soaked it in water and dabbed at her wounds, washing away the dried blood and dirt. For about twenty minutes she tried to clean and dress her wounds as best she possibly could. She stripped away a few clean strips of her dress and tied it across her chest, tying it tightly over her wounds. It wasn't exactly a good dressing as she could do, but it was the best under the circumstances. Next was to find something to wear.

Grabbing the photograph she trudged wearily into her old bedroom and searched through her old built in wardrobe. Finding a few old jeans, old dresses when she was twelve and old white pumps. They would probably be too small for her. Huffing in annoyance she knelt down onto her knees and pulled over a small old brown trunk, popping it open. Inside to her luck was a few knee length skirts and a few long sleeved t-shirts and shirts. She could have sworn that this trunk weren't there yesterday. Shrugging her shoulders she grabbed a light blue shirt and matching coloured shirt and pulled them on. She slid her old black and white photograph into the front pocket of her skirt and patted it lightly.

Katherine craned her neck over her shoulders checking the back of her legs that wasn't covered by the skirt, seeing a few blue and black bruises. Nothing major. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten out any knots in her hair. Fuck, she needed a shower. A nice clean shower, to wash him off of her. Wash away the feel of his hands on her skin. She closed her eyes and shook her head wildly, trying to forget what had happened earlier. It was over.

Well, until the next time unfortunately.

Pushing herself to her feet she wandered slowly downstairs and stood at the kitchen window, looking at the old backyard. A feeling of melancholy washed over her as she reminisced back to that fateful day in the garden. The day that led up to now. It was an event that turned her life upside down. That had culminated to what had happened in her life, the abuse she had suffered at his hands.

But then again, what would have happened if she told her teacher the truth? Things could have turned out so much differently. Her father would have been arrested, she would have been placed in the care of social services and then in foster care. Anything could have happened to her. One thing was for sure, she wouldn't have went through all the physical, sexual and emotional torment over the years.

She would still be alive. Living a perfectly normal life. Perhaps even in a relationship or married with a kid or two. Who knew what could have happened. But she couldn't think of '_what if'_. She had to face the reality of what was happening now. What was going to happen in the coming days. The death that was going to spread throughout the town. There was nothing she could do to. He was going to kill whether she liked it or not. Damn it, he had being killing her friends after her mother's death without a care for her feelings or how it would effect her mind. As for now she had to obey him, she was going to obey him.

She had no choice in the matter.

**X x x**

The school trainings pitches was rather quiet when she first arrived there at around 9am. Katherine had hid herself underneath the large seating stand near the racing track just off the football pitch. She sat Indian style about half way under the stand, just below where Ashleigh and another girl name Diana were sat discussing the death of their friend Jennifer.

"Her mother found her. There was blood everywhere apparently. Her face was disfigured, her tongue was ripped out" she heard Ashleigh mutter sombrely.

"But how could anyone do that? There was no sign of forced entry!" the girl Diana cried.

"I don't know. I just don't know" her friend sighed and looked at her friend, seeing bags under her eyes. "You not sleep last night?"

"No, had some weird dream"

"Oh, right" she yawned.

"Just what are you two doing here?" came the familiar voice of Matthew. He glared up at the two school girls, "You should be at class. Go on. Inside"

Katherine heard the two girls as the climbed down the the steps of the stand and run off towards the school building. Her attention soon turned towards Matthew as she peered through the gaps of the seats, seeing him begin to set out some sport equipment for his first class. He looked tired, rubbing his eyes and stretching his limbs every now and then. Was her father haunting his dreams yet? No, he would have said to her. Taunted her about it. Gripping the edge of the wooden step she observed him as he carried on with his word until he heard a female's voice calling from the large wired fences to far left of the pitches. He turned around and waved as Nancy walked towards him accompanied by Neil.

Katherine discerned their forlorn expressions as they asked Matthew to sit with them at a nearby sports bench. Luckily enough for Katherine it was close enough for her to overhear their conversation.

"Hi, Matthew. How are you doing?" Nancy asked softly.

He gave a quick shrug of his shoulders, "I'm fine. You?"

"Just stressed out with what happened last night with that girl Jennifer" she commented bitterly, "Did you hear about Gareth Summers?"

"No" he gave her a nervous look, "What happened?"

Neil cleared his throat, "He was found in a coma in his bedroom.

"Oh, shit, you serious?" he rose his eyebrows.

"Yeah. His father works in the hospital. I was visiting him this morning, before I met Nancy. Gareth's family is in a terrible state"

Matthew cursed softly, dismayed at this piece of news. "Does anyone have any idea how Jennifer died? Or even how Gareth came to be in his coma?"

"No" Nancy clasped her hands together, "I'm going to see my father at lunch time, to try and find out some information. My nerves are wrecked even thinking of going over to the station"

Matthew glanced around for a second before asking, "Have you been sleeping well? Any dreams or anything?"

"I haven't been sleeping much. Been trying to reassure Kristen that nothing is wrong. She's been staying in my apartment since Saturday night" she replied tiredly.

"What about you Neil? Any dreams?"

"No, nothing. Joey and Kincaid haven't had any strange dreams either"

Nancy reached out to grab Matthew's left arm and tugged it gently, "And you?"

"Nothing. I just can't sleep. Insomnia I guess" he mumbled, "Do you think that something is happening?"

"In what way?" she frowned.

"You know..." he whispered, "Do you think it's him?"

A flicker of fear spread across her face. She knew exactly what he meant. "No, I doubt it. I mean, there is nothing to suggest that he is back. The dream that Kristen had the other night was a one off. Any other times she has had any sleep she had no dreams whatsoever" she then chewed her lip anxiously, "But there was something that my father told me"

Matthew stared at her curiously, "What did he say?"

"Please keep this to yourself. Supposedly, there was some blood found in Shane's swimming pool where his body was found. However, there was no visible wounds on his body" she licked her dry lips.

"So, he had internal bleeding? Was there any blood coming from his mouth?"

"There seemed to be, yes" she agreed, "There is an autopsy planned. So, I'll keep you informed of the results"

He nodded and turned around on his seat, seeing a few of his students beginning to gather at the side of the pitch. "I've got to go here. If you need to talk to me then you'll know where I'll be. See you later" he gave a small smile.

Katherine watched intently as Nancy and Neil left the bench, heading out of the large wired fence towards their car. To her surprise none of the Elm Street children had been having any dreams. But her father had said that he was going to be biding his time, conjuring up enough fear and gaining enough power before he would pay them a visit. Well, so far he had the souls of Shane and Jennifer. But why did he not kill this guy Gareth? Why did he not use her to lure Gareth to him like the others? Perhaps she should ask, then again not. She didn't want to anger him.

Dragging herself out from under the stand, Katherine stared at Nancy's car as it drove off into the distance. She hadn't changed much over the last few years, she still had that sense of courage and determination about her.

"Hey!" came a stern voice from her right. "Are you not meant to be in class?"

Her body stiffened at the sound of his voice, Matthews voice calling out to her. Fuck, fuck. This was not good news. She had to get out of here. Twisting her body away so her back faced him, she sprinted out of the training grounds and straight across the street. His voice echoed behind her as he called out one last time,"Hey, you wait!"

Her feet pounded on the pavement as she continued to run down the street, crossing road upon road until she reached the main street where the majority of the shops and convenience stores used to be. That was until the Springwood Mall opened and soon the business began to go into meltdown, a few of them closing and were replaced by a few bars and a bowling alley. Her vacant gaze turned towards the street, seeing that the cinema must have had a new lick of paint. Other than the new bars and bowling alley, it hadn't changed much.

Slowing her pace she came to a stop at a small bench and sat down, catching her breath. If her father found out that she was nearly spotted by Matthew, then there would be hell to pay. Why didn't she just stay underneath the stand for a few minutes more? Why did she have to be so stupid? She grumbled to herself and thought of how she could get to Stacey, Louise and her friends. It would be best if she went back to Springwood High School about lunch time. Hopefully, she could bump into them then and talk some more about her father. If luck would have it, in hear-sight of other students.

It was just past half 12. Lunchtime at Springwood High School. The main canteen was bustling with students, most of them were in a sombre mood at the devastating news of the death of Jennifer and the mysterious circumstances surrounding why Gareth Summers was found in a coma. At the back of the canteen was a set of double doors leading outside to a few tables and a long patch of grass where several students had congregated on the ground eating their lunches.

Katherine silently made her way through the crowd, having successfully entered the school without arousing any suspicion from the teachers. Her pensive gaze scoured the crowds of students, hoping to pick out Stacey and Louise. But it seemed that they found her first as Louise's voice rang out from behind her, "Katie! Katie!"

Spinning around she yelped as the girl ran towards her, hugging her tightly. "You're okay, thank god!"

She feigned a smile and nodded slowly, before stepping backwards.

"I've told my friends about what happened, but they still don't believe me" she grabbed her hand and began to lead her through the throes of students, "That's why you have to show them your wounds"

Katherine nodded as they came to a halt at a small bench, where Paul, Chris and Stacey were situated at. Louise cleared her throat, demanding their attention. "Katie is going to show you her wounds. This has to make you believe that what I'm telling you is true. That the guy is real!"

The two guys huffed in frustration and turned to face her. Their eyes widened with dread at the sight of her bruised, cut lip. Shyly Katie began to roll her t-shirt up revealing the pieces of fabric covering her chest. To her distraught her wounds were beginning to bleed. "Um...I think I need some stitches"

"You should go to the nurse" Stacey suggested.

"But they'll ask me questions!" she cried.

Louise took a small step forward, "Look, I'm trained in first aid. I could perhaps try and stitch it myself. There are usually first aid kits dotted about the corridors. I can take one and treat you. Is that okay with you?"

She agreed and turned to her friends, "You don't believe me, do you?"

"It's just that we haven't had any dreams of that Freddy guy" Paul shrugged.

"But I have" Louise argued, "I woke up with my hand horribly burned from the furnace. Katie saved me, saved me from him" she exhaled slowly and turned towards the younger girl, "Have you heard the news?"

Shaking her head, Katie asked. "No, what happened?"

"A girl named Jennifer Hampton was found dead in her bedroom. While someone else is in a coma. His name is Gareth Summers. I think it might have something to do with Freddy"

"But how?" her eyes narrowed in perplexity, "How did they know about him?"

"They were as Shane's party. They were at the table outside, right beside the spot where you were talking about your dreams" she stated dryly.

Katie's face paled with horror, "How many overheard? Do you know?"

"I'm not sure..." her voice trailed off as her eyes catch sight of Ashleigh, "Ash! Ashleigh. Over here!"

The girl rushed over, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Oh, Lou! I can't believe this. Why her? Why Jennifer?"

"Hey, I know. I know. It's going to be hard to get over it, but we're here for you okay. We've all got to pull together. Okay?" she looked at her squarely in the eyes, "Ashleigh, have you been having any nightmares over the last night or so? Remember the other night at Shane's party? Remember Katie?" she looked at her for a split second.

Ashleigh nodded at Katie, giving a little grim smile. "Yes, I remember her"

"Well, remember she was saying about having nightmares? That someone was after her in her dreams?" she continued.

The girl nodded slowly, thinking back to the night at the party. "Yes, some guy named Freddy. Why?"

"Who else overheard her story. Who was at your table?" her hand tightened around her wrist in anticipation.

Ashleigh shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "There was me, Kieran, Diana, Geri, Liam, Jennifer and Gareth"

"Jennifer and Gareth" Stacey hissed. "Fuck!"

"What? What's wrong?" her friend muttered.

"Can you get everyone who overheard Katie's story? We need to talk. We can meet after school, outside at the steps. This is very important!" she spun around to Katie, "Are you going to be in school the rest of the day?"

"Yes, I should be" she gulped.

"Good, I want you to tell them everything that has happened to you. We need to know if anyone else had dreamt of him. But we have to make sure that no one else finds out about him. That we keep this to ourselves!" she looked expectantly at the others. Each of them had a bemused look on their countenances. However, they each nodded slowly in agreement.

Katie felt her hand being grabbed by Louise and she was soon half dragged into the school building, straight down one of the corridors towards the female toilets. "Where are we going?"

"We're cleaning your injuries. We don't have much time until lunch is over. Now, come on"

It took more or less twenty minutes or so to treat her wounds. Louise wasn't the greatest expert at first aid, but the skills she did have were good enough to help address Katie's wounds. Her deep slashes were dabbed with anti-septic cream and applied with new fresh bandages. As for her bruised lip, Louise used a bit of foundation to cover it and also over the small gash on her cheek. "That should do" she grimly nodded as they exited one of the toilet cubicles, "So, what class are you in next?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I'll have to check my timetable in my locker" she lied.

"OK. After your last class meet me at the front steps" Louise gave her shoulders a small squeeze. "Keep alert"

Katie nodded, her lips pursed together and she went on her way. Leaving the bathroom and turning left down the empty corridor. Sighing loudly Louise left the bathroom and nearly collided with Matthew as he walked by. "Oh, sorry sir"

"It's okay" his gaze was diverted from hers, staring at Katie as she hurried down the hallway, "Who was that girl? You know her?"

"Oh, Katie? Her name is Katie Emerson. She's new in town" Louise replied.

"New in town?" he muttered to himself.

"Yes, sir. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I thought I seen her this morning at the football pitch. I haven't seen her in school" Matthew turned to face her.

"I think she only enrolled in school this morning" she stated simply.

"Oh, okay. Get yourself onto class. You're late as it is" he commanded.

She gave an apologetic smile and scurried away. Leaving Matthew to this meandering thoughts. There was something strange about this. Just why was this 'new girl' at the football pitch this morning if she was meant to be enrolling at school? Why did she run away? Did she overhear his conversation with Nancy? And finally, why did he have this feeling that he had seen her before?

_**Please review!**_


End file.
